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One  by  one  the  princes  rode  bi/. 


Pa, 


5  SHOEMAKE1 
APRON 

Second  Book  of  Czechoslovak 
'airy   Tales  and  Folk   Tales 


RETOLD  BY 

PARKER  FILLMORE 


WITH   ILLUSTRATIONS 
AND  DECORATIONS  BY 

JAN    MATULKA 


NEW  YORK 

SARCOURT,  BRACE   AND    HOWE 
1920 


COPYRIGHT,  1920,  BY 
PARKER  FILLMORE 


TO 


MISS  HERMINE  ISAACS 


929550 


NOTE 

THE  stories  in  this  volume  are  all  of  Czech, 
Moravian,  and  Slovak  origin,  and  are  to  be 
found  in  many  versions  in  the  books  of  folk  tales 
collected  by  Erben,  Nemcova,  Kulda,  Dobsinsky, 
Rimavsky,  Benes-Trebizsky,  Miksicek.  I  got  them  first 
by  word  of  mouth  and  afterwards  hunted  them  out  in 
the  old  books.  My  work  has  been  that  of  retelling  rather 
than  translating  since  in  most  cases  I  have  put  myself 
in  the  place  of  a  storyteller  who  knows  several  forms  of 
the  same  story,  equally  authentic,  and  from  them  all 
fashions  a  version  of  his  own.  It  is  of  course  always 


vi  NOTE 

the  same  story  although  told  in  one  form  to  a  group 
of  children  and  in  another  form  to  a  group  of  soldiers. 
The  audience  that  I  hope  particularly  to  interest  is  the 
English-speaking  child. 

Some  few  of  the  stories — such  as  Nemcova's  very 
beautiful  Twelve  Months  and  Erben's  spirited  Zlatov- 
laska  and  to  a  less  degree  Nemcova's  hero  tale,  Vitazko 
— are  already  in  such  definitive  form  that  it  would  be 
profanation  to  "  edit "  them.  They — especially  the 
first  two — have  been  told  once  and  for  all.  But  the 
same  cannot  be  said  of  most  of  the  other  stories. 
Nemcova's  renderings  are  too  often  diffuse  and  incon- 
sequential, Kulda's  dry,  pedantic,  and  homiletic. 
Erben,  the  scholarly  old  archivist  of  Prague,  seems  to 
me  the  greatest  literary  artist  of  them  all.  His  chief 
interest  in  folklore  was  philological,  but  he  was  a  poet 
as  well  as  a  scholar  and  he  carried  his  versions  of  the 
old  stories  from  the  realm  of  crude  folklore  to  the 
realm  of  art. 

A  small  number  of  the  present  tales  have  appeared 
in  earlier  English  collections  coming,  nearly  always, 
by  way  of  German  or  French  translations.  In  the 
one  case  they  have  been  squeezed  dry  of  their  Slavic 
exuberance  and  in  the  other  somewhat  dandified.  So 
I  make  no  apology  for  offering  them  afresh. 


NOTE  vii 

Variants  of  most  of  the  tales  are,  of  course,  to  be 
found  in  other  countries.  Grimm's  The  White  Snake, 
for  instance,  is  a  variant  of  Zlatovlaska.  My  rule  of 
selection  has  been  to  take  stories  that  do  not  have  well- 
known  variants  in  other  languages.  I  have  to  confess 
that  The  White  Snake  is  very  well  known,  but  here 
I  break  my  own  rule  on  account  of  the  greater  beauty 
of  the  Slavic  version. 

In  Grimm  there  are  also  to  be  found  variants  of  A 
Gullible  World  (The  Shrewd  Farmer],  The  Devil's 
Little  Brother-in-Law  (Bearskin),  Clever  Manka 
(The  Peasant's  Clever  Daughter),  The  Devil's  Gifts 
(The,  Magic  Gifts),  The  Candles  of  Life  (The 
Strange  Godfather  and  Godfather  Death),  The  Shoe- 
maker's Apron  (Brother  Jolly).  In  all  these  tales  the 
same  incidents  are  presented  but  with  a  difference  in 
spirit  and  in  background  that  instantly  marks  one 
variant  Teutonic  and  its  fellow  Slavic.  Moreover,  as 
stories,  the  German  versions  of  these  particular  tales 
are  neither  as  interesting  nor  as  important  as  the  Slavic 
versions. 

Both  German  and  Slavic  versions  go  back,  in  most 
cases,  to  some  early  common  source.  Take  Clever 
Manka,  for  instance,  and  its  German  variant,  The 
Farmer's  Shrewd  Daughter.  Clever  Manka  is  very; 


viii  NOTE 

popular  among  the  Czechs  and  Slovaks  and  is  con- 
sidered by  them  especially  typical  of  their  own  folk 
wisdom  and  folk  humor.  And  they  are  right:  it  is. 
But  it  would  be  rash  to  say  just  how  early  or  how 
late  this  story  began  to  be  told  among  the  peoples  of 
the  earth.  The  catch  at  the  end  appears  in  a  story 
in  the  Talmud  and  at  that  time  it  has  all  the  marks  of 
a  long  and  honorable  career.  The  story  of  the  devil 
marrying  a  scold,  another  great  favorite  with  the  Slavs, 
also  has  its  Talmudic  parallel  in  the  story  of  Azrael, 
the  Angel  of  Death,  marrying  a  woman.  The  Azrael 
story  contains  many  of  the  incidents  which  are  used  in 
different  combinations  in  some  half-dozen  of  the  folk 
tales  in  the  present  collection.  And  yet  when  com- 
parative folklore  has  said  all  that  it  has  to  say  about 
variants  and  versions  the  fact  remains  that  every 
people  puts  its  own  mark  upon  the  stories  that  it 
retells.  The  story  that,  in  the  Talmud,  is  told  of 
Azrael  is  Hebrew.  The  same  story  passed  on  down  the 
centuries  from  people  to  people  appears  finally  as 
Gentle  Dora  or  Katcha  and  the  Devil  or  The 
Candles  of  Life  and  then  it  is  essentially  Slavic  in 
background,  humor,  and  imagination. 

Besides  its  fairy  tales  and  folk  tales  the  present 
volume  contains  a  cluster  of  charming  little  nursery 


NOTE  ix 

tales  and  a  group  of  rollicking  devil  tales.  It  is 
intended  as  a  companion  volume  to  my  earlier  collec- 
tion, Czechoslovak  Fairy  Tales.  Together  these  two 
books  present  in  English  a  selection  of  tales  that  are 
fairly  representative  of  the  folk  genius  of  a  small  but 
highly  gifted  branch  of  the  great  Slav  people. 

P.F. 
May,  1920. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  TWELVE  MONTHS:  The  Story  of  Marushka  and  the  Wicked  Holena        1 
ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED:  The  Story  of  Yirik  and  the  Snake      23- 

THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY:  The  Story  of  the  Princess  Who  Learned 
to  say  "Please" 

VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS:  The  Story  of  a  Hero  Whose  Mother  Loved 

a  Dragon 57 

FIVE  NURSERY  TALES: 

I     KURATKO  THE  TERRIBLE:  The  Story  of  an  Ungrateful  Chick  .       91 

II     SMOLICHECK  :  The  Story  of  a  Little  Boy  Who  Opened  the 
^  Door 99 

III  BUDULINEK:  The  Story  of  Another  Little  Boy  Who  Opened 

the  Door 109 

IV  THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN:  The  Story  of  a  Rooster  that  Cheated    128 

V    THE  DISOBEDIENT  ROOSTER:  The  Story  of  Another  Little  Hen    188 
3d 


xii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  NICKERMAN'S  WIFE:  The  Story  of  Lidushka  and  the  Imprisoned 

DOVES % 139 

BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON:  The  Story  of  a  Shepherd  Who  Slept  all 

Winter 149 

CLEVER  MANKA:  The  Story  of  a  Girl  Who  Knew  What  to  Say     .       .     165 

THE   BLACKSMITH'S  STOOL:   The   Story  of  a  Man  Who  Found   that 

Death  was  Necessary 177 

A  GULLIBLE  WORLD:  The  Story  of  a  Man  Who  Didn't  Beat  His  Wife    187 

THE  CANDLES  OF  LIFE:  The  Story  of  a  Child  for  Whom  Death  Stood 

Godmother 197 

THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS:  The  Story  of  a  Man  Whom  the  Devil  Befriended  .     207 
GENTLE  DORA:  The  Story  of  a  Devil  Who  Married  a  Scold  .       .       .     225 

THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH:  The  Story  of  a  Farmer  Who  Remembered  What 

His  Grandmother  Told  Him 239 

THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW:  The   Story  of  a  Youth  Who 

Couldn't  Find  Work 251 

THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON:  The  Story  of  the  Man  Who  Sits  Near  the 

Golden  Gate    .  .       .    271 


FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 

One  by  One  the  Princes  Rode  By Frontispiece 

PAGE 
Marushka  and  Holena 6 

Marushka  Reached  up  and  Picked  One  Apple 13 

Yirik's  Horse  Began  to  Prance  and  Neigh 27 

Nedyelka  Tells  Vitazko  What  to  Do 65 

Vitazko  Disguised  as  an  Old  Village  Piper 83 

An  Organ-Grinder  Began  Playing  in  Front  of  Granny's  Cottage  .        .  115 
On,  On  They  Went,  Whizzing  through  the  Stars  of  Heaven  .       .       .159 

He  Led  Them  to  Prince  Lucifer 221 

Soon  He  Began  to  Cry 233 

xiii 


THE  TWELVE  MONTHS 

THE   STORY    OF    MARUSHKA   AND    THE    WICKED    HOLENA 


THE  TWELVE  MONTHS 

f  •  ^HERE  was  once  a  woman  who  had  two  girls. 
JL  One  was  her  own  daughter,  the  other  a  step- 
child. Helena,  her  own  daughter,  she  loved  dearly, 
but  she  couldn't  bear  even  the  sight  of  Marushka,  the 
stepchild.  This  was  because  Marushka  was  so  much 
prettier  than  Helena.  Marushka,  the  dear  child, 
didn't  know  how  pretty  she  was  and  so  she  never 
understood  why,  whenever  she  stood  beside  Helena, 
the  stepmother  frowned  so  crossly. 

Mother  and  daughter  made  Marushka  do  all  the 
housework  alone.  She  had  to  cook  and  wash  and  sew 
and  spin  and  take  care  of  the  garden  and  look  after 
the  cow.  Helena,  on  the  contrary,  spent  all  her  time 
decking  herself  out  and  sitting  around  like  a  grand 
lady. 

Marushka  never  complained.  She  did  all  she  was 
told  to  do  and  bore  patiently  their  everlasting  fault- 
finding. In  spite  of  all  the  hard  work  she  did  she  grew 
prettier  from  day  to  day,  and  in  spite  of  her  lazy  life 
Helena  grew  uglier. 

"This  will  never  do,"  the  stepmother  thought  to 


4  THE  TWELVE  MONTHS 

herself.  "  Soon  the  boys  will  come  courting  and  once 
they  see  how  pretty  Marushka  is,  they'll  pay  no  at- 
tention at  all  to  my  Holena.  We  had  just  better 
do  all  we  can  to  get  rid  of  that  Marushka  as  soon 
as  possible." 

So  they  both  nagged  Marushka  all  day  long.  They 
made  her  work  harder,  they  beat  her,  they  didn't  give 
her  enough  to  eat,  they  did  everything  they  could 
think  of  to  make  her  ugly  and  nasty.  But  all  to  no 
avail.  Marushka  was  so  good  and  sweet  that,  in 
spite  of  all  their  harsh  treatment,  she  kept  on  grow- 
ing prettier. 

One  day  in  the  middle  of  January  Holena  took  the 
notion  that  nothing  would  do  but  she  must  have  a 
bunch  of  fragrant  violets  to  put  in  her  bodice. 

"Marushka!"  she  ordered  sharply.  "I  want  some 
violets.  Go  out  to  the  forest  and  get  me  some." 

"  Good  heavens,  my  dear  sister! "  cried  poor 
Marushka.  "  What  can  you  be  thinking  of?  Who- 
ever heard  .of  violets  growing  under  the  snow  in 
January? " 

"What,  you  lazy  little  slattern!"  Holena  shouted. 
"  You  dare  to  argue  with  me !  You  go  this  minute 
and  if  you  come  back  without  violets  I'll  kill  you!  " 

The    stepmother    sided    with    Holena    and,    taking 


Marushka  and  Holena 


THE  TWELVE  MONTHS  7 

Marushka  roughly  by  the  shoulder,  she  pushed  her 
out  of  the  house  and  slammed  the  door. 

The  poor  child  climbed  slowly  up  the  mountain  side 
weeping  bitterly.  All  around  the  snow  lay  deep  with 
no  track  of  man  or  beast  in  any  direction.  Marushka 
wandered  on  and  on,  weak  with  hunger  and  shaking 
with  cold. 

"Dear  God  in  heaven,"  she  prayed,  "take  me  to 
yourself  away  from  all  this  suffering." 

Suddenly  ahead  of  her  she  saw  a  glowing  light. 
She  struggled  towards  it  and  found  at  last  that  it 
came  from  a  great  fire  that  was  burning  on  the  top 
of  the  mountain.  Around  the  fire  there  were  twelve 
stones,  one  of  them  much  bigger  and  higher  than  the 
rest.  Twelve  men  were  seated  on  the  stones.  Three 
of  them  were  very  old  and  white;  three  were  not  so 
old;  three  were  middle-aged;  and  three  were  beautiful 
youths.  They  did  not  talk.  They  sat  silent  gazing 
at  the  fire.  They  were  the  Twelve  Months. 

For  a  moment  Marushka  was  frightened  and  hesi- 
tated. Then  she  stepped  forward  and  said,  politely: 

"Kind  sirs,  may  I  warm  myself  at  your  fire?  I 
am  shaking  with  cold." 

Great  January  nodded  his  head  and  Marushka 
reached  her  stiff  fingers  towards  the  flames. 


8  THE  TWELVE  MONTHS 

"This  is  no  place  for  you,  my  child,"  Great  Jan- 
uary said.  "  Why  are  you  here?  " 

"  I'm  hunting  for  violets,"  Marushka  answered. 

"Violets?  This  is  no  time  to  look  for  violets  with 
snow  on  the  ground!" 

"I  know  that,  sir,  hut  my  sister,  Helena,  says  I 
must  bring  her  violets  from  the  forest  or  she'll  kill 
me  and  my  mother  says  so,  too.  Please,  sir,  won't  you 
tell  me  where  I  can  find  some? " 

Great  January  slowly  stood  up  and  walked  over 
to  the  youngest  Month.  He  handed  him  a  long  staff 
and  said: 

"  Here,  March,  you  take  the  high  seat." 

So  March  took  the  high  seat  and  began  waving  the 
staff  over  the  fire.  The  fire  blazed  up  and  instantly 
the  snow  all  about  began  to  melt.  The  trees  burst 
into  bud;  the  grass  revived;  the  little  pink  buds  of  the 
daisies  appeared ;  and,  lo,  it  was  spring ! 

While  Marushka  looked,  violets  began  to  peep  out 
from  among  the  leaves  and  soon  it  was  as  if  a  great 
blue  quilt  had  been  spread  on  the  ground. 

"  Now,  Marushka,"  March  cried,  "  there  are  your 
violets!  Pick  them  quickly!  " 

Marushka  was  overjoyed.     She  stooped  down  and 


THE  TWELVE  MONTHS  9 

gathered  a  great  bunch.  Then  she  thanked  the  Months 
politely,  bade  them  good-day,  and  hurried  away. 

Just  imagine  Helena  and  the  stepmother's  surprise 
when  they  saw  Marushka  coming  home  through  the 
snow  with  her  hands  full  of  violets.  They  opened  the 
door  and  instantly  the  fragrance  of  the  flowers  filled 
the  cottage. 

"Where  did  you  get  them?"  Helena  demanded 
rudely. 

"  High  up  in  the  mountain,"  Marushka  said.  "  The 
ground  up  there  is  covered  with  them." 

Helena  snatched  the  violets  and  fastened  them  in 
her  waist.  She  kept  smelling  them  herself  all  after- 
noon and  she  let  her  mother  smell  them,  but  she  never 
once  said  to  Marushka: 

"  Dear  sister,  won't  you  take  a  smell?  " 

The  next  day  as  she  was  sitting  idle  in  the  chimney 
corner  she  took  the  notion  that  she  must  have  some 
strawberries  to  eat.  So  she  called  Marushka  and 
said: 

"  Here  you,  Marushka,  go  out  to  the  forest  and  get 
me  some  strawberries." 

"  Good  heavens,  my  dear  sister,"  Marushka  said, 
"  where  can  I  find  strawberries  this  time  of  year? 


10  THE  TWELVE  MONTHS 

Whoever   heard   of   strawberries   growing   under  the 

snow? " 

"What,  you  lazy  little  slattern!"  Holena  shouted. 
"You  dare  to  argue  with  me!  You  go  this  minute 
and  if  you  come  back  without  strawberries,  I'll  kill 
you!"  " 

*  Again  the  stepmother  sided  with  Holena  and, 
taking  Marushka  roughly  by  the  shoulder,  she  pushed 
her  out  of  the  house  and  slammed  the  door. 

Again  the  poor  child  climbed  slowly  up  the  moun- 
tain side  weeping  bitterly.  All  around  the  snow  lay 
deep  with  no  track  of  man  or  beast  in  any  direction. 
Marushka  wandered  on  and  on,  weak  with  hunger 
and  shaking  with  cold.  At  last  she  saw  ahead  of  her 
the  glow  of  the  same  fire  that  she  had  seen  the  day 
before.  With  happy  heart  she  hastened  to  it.  The 
Twelve  Months  were  seated  as  before  with  Great  Jan- 
uary on  the  high  seat. 

Marushka  bowed  politely  and  said: 

"  Kind  sirs,  may  I  warm  myself  at  your  fire?  I 
am  shaking  with  cold." 

Great  January  nodded  and  Marushka  reached  her 
stiff  fingers  towards  the  flames. 

"  But  Marushka,"  Great  January  said,  "  why  are 
you  here  again?  What  are  you  hunting  now? " 


THE  TWELVE  MONTHS  11 

"  I'm  hunting  for  strawberries,"  Marushka  an- 
swered. 

"  Strawberries?  But,  Marushka,  my  child,  it  is 
winter  and  strawberries  do  not  grow  in  the  snow." 

Marushka  shook  her  head  sadly. 

"  I  know  that,  sir,  but  my  sister,  Helena,  says  I 
must  bring  her  strawberries  from  the  forest  or  she  will 
kill  me  and  my  mother  says  so,  too.  Please,  sir,  won't 
you  tell  me  where  I  can  find  some? " 

Great  January  slowly  stood  up  and  walked  over 
to  the  Month  who  sat  opposite  him.  He  handed  him 
the  long  staff  and  said: 

"  Here,  June,  you  take  the  high  seat." 

So  June  took  the  high  seat  and  began  waving  the 
staff  over  the  fire.  The  flames  blazed  high  and  with 
the  heat  the  snow  all  about  melted  instantly.  The 
earth  grew  green;  the  trees  decked  themselves  in 
leaves;  the  birds  began  to  sing;  flowers  bloomed  and, 
lo,  it  was  summer  I  Presently  little  starry  white 
blossoms  covered  the  ground  under  the  beech  trees. 
Soon  these  turned  to  fruit,  first  green,  then  pink,  then 
red,  and,  with  a  gasp  of  delight,  Marushka  saw  that 
they  were  ripe  strawberries. 

"  Now,  Marushka,"  June  cried,  "  there  are  your 
strawberries!  Pick  them  quickly!  " 


12  THE  TWELVE  MONTHS 

Marushka  picked  an  apronful  of  berries.  Then  she 
thanked  the  Months  politely,  bade  them  good-bye,  and 
hurried  home. 

Just  imagine  again  Holena  and  the  stepmother's 
surprise  as  they  saw  Marushka  coming  through  the 
snow  with  an  apronful  of  strawberries! 

They  opened  the  door  and  instantly  the  fragrance  of 
the  berries  filled  the  house. 

"Where  did  you  get  them?"  Holena  demanded 
rudely. 

"  High  up  in  the  mountain,"  Marushka  answered, 
"  under  the  beech  trees." 

Holena  took  the  strawberries  and  gobbled  and 
gobbled  and  gobbled.  Then  the  stepmother  ate  all 
she  wanted.  But  it  never  occurred  to  either  of  them 
to  say: 

"  Here,  Marushka,  you  take  one." 

The  next  day  when  Holena  was  sitting  idle,  as 
usual,  in  the  chimney  corner,  the  notion  took  her  that 
she  must  have  some  red  apples.  So  she  called 
Marushka  and  said: 

"  Here  you,  Marushka,  go  out  to  the  forest  and  get 
me  some  red  apples." 

"  But,  my  dear  sister,"  Marushka  gasped,  "  where 
can  I  find  red  apples  in  winter? " 


MarushJca  reached  up  and  picked  one  apple 


THE  TWELVE  MONTHS  16 

"What,  you  lazy  little  slattern,  you  dare  to  argue 
with  me!  You  go  this  minute  and  if  you  come  back 
without  red  apples  I'll  kill  you!  " 

For  the  third  time  the  stepmother  sided  with 
Helena  and,  taking  Marushka  roughly  by  the  shoul- 
der, pushed  her  out  of  the  house  and  slammed  the 
door. 

So  again  the  poor  child  went  out  to  the  forest.  All 
around  the  snow  lay  deep  with  no  track  of  man  or 
beast  in  any  direction.  This  time  Marushka  hurried 
straight  to  the  mountain  top.  She  found  the  Months 
still  seated  about  their  fire  with  Great  January  still 
on  the  high  stone. 

Marushka  bowed  politely  and  said: 

"  Kind  sirs,  may  I  warm  myself  at  your  fire?  I 
am  shaking  with  cold." 

Great  January  nodded  and  Marushka  reached  her 
stiff  fingers  towards  the  flames. 

"  Why  are  you  here  again,  Marushka? "  Great  Jan- 
uary asked.  "  What  are  you  looking  for  now?  " 

"  Red  apples,"  Marushka  answered.  "  My  sister, 
Holena,  says  I  must  bring  her  some  red  apples  from 
the  forest  or  she  will  kill  me,  and  my  mother  says  so, 
too.  Please,  sir,  won't  you  tell  me  where  I  can  find 
some?" 


16  THE  TWELVE  MONTHS 

Great  January  slowly  stood  up  and  walked  over  to 
one  of  the  older  Months.  He  handed  him  the  long 
staff  and  said: 

"  Here,  September,  you  take  the  high  seat." 

So  September  took  the  high  seat  and  began  waving 
the  staff  over  the  fire.  The  fire  burned  and  glowed. 
Instantly  the  snow  disappeared.  The  fields  about 
looked  brown  and  yellow  and  dry.  From  the  trees 
the  leaves  dropped  one  by  one  and  a  cool  breeze  scat- 
tered them  over  the  stubble.  There  were  not  many 
flowers,  only  wild  asters  on  the  hillside,  and  meadow 
saffron  in  the  valleys,  and  under  the  beeches  ferns 
and  ivy.  Presently  Marushka  spied  an  apple-tree 
weighted  down  with  ripe  fruit. 

"  There,  Marushka,"  September  called,  "  there  are 
your  apples.  Gather  them  quickly." 

Marushka  reached  up  and  picked  one  apple.  Then 
she  picked  another. 

"  That's  enough,  Marushka! "  September  shouted. 
"  Don't  pick  any  more!  " 

Marushka  obeyed  at  once.  Then  she  thanked  the 
Months  politely,  bade  them  good-bye,  and  hurried 
home. 

Holena  and  her  stepmother  were  more   surprised 


THE  TWELVE  MONTHS  17 

than  ever  to  see  Marushka  coming  through  the  snow 
with  red  apples  in  her  hands.  They  let  her  in  and 
grabbed  the  apples  from  her. 

"Where  did  you  get  them?  "  Helena  demanded. 

"  High  up  on  the  mountain,"  Marushka  answered. 
"  There  are  plenty  of  them  growing  there." 

"  Plenty  of  them !  And  you  only  brought  us  two !  " 
Helena  cried  angrily.  "  Or  did  you  pick  more  and 
eat  them  yourself  on  the  way  home?  " 

"  No,  no,  my  dear  sister,"  Marushka  said.  "  I 
haven't  eaten  any,  truly  I  haven't.  They  wouldn't 
let  me  pick  any  more  than  two.  They  shouted  to 
me  not  to  pick  any  more." 

"  I  wish  the  lightning  had  struck  you  dead ! " 
Helena  sneered.  "  I've  a  good  mind  to  beat  you! " 

After  a  time  the  greedy  Helena  left  off  her  scold- 
ing to  eat  one  of  the  apples.  It  had  so  delicious  a 
flavor  that  she  declared  she  had  never  in  all  her  life 
tasted  anything  so  good.  Her  mother  said  the  same. 
When  they  had  finished  both  apples  they  began  to 
wish  for  more. 

"  Mother,"  Holena  said,  "  go  get  me  my  fur  cloak. 
I'm  going  up  the  mountain  myself.  No  use  sending 
that  lazy  little  slattern  again,  for  she  would  only  eat 


18  THE  TWELVE  MONTHS 

up  all  the  apples  on  the  way  home.  I'll  find  that  tree 
and  when  I  pick  the  apples  I'd  like  to  see  anybody 
stop  me ! " 

The  mother  begged  Holena  not  to  go  out  in  such 
weather,  but  Holena  was  headstrong  and  would  go. 
She  threw  her  fur  cloak  over  her  shoulders  and  put  a 
shawl  on  her  head  and  off  she  went  up  the  mountain 
side. 

All  around  the  snow  lay  deep  with  no  track  of  man 
or  beast  in  any  direction.  Holena  wandered  on  and  on 
determined  to  find  those  wonderful  apples.  At  last 
she  saw  a  light  in  the  distance  and  when  she  reached  it 
she  found  it  was  the  great  fire  about  which  the  Twelve 
Months  were  seated. 

At  first  she  was  frightened  but,  soon  growing  bold, 
she  elbowed  her  way  through  the  circle  of  men  and 
without  so  much  as  saying:  "  By  your  leave,"  she  put 
out  her  hands  to  the  fire.  She  hadn't  even  the  courtesy 
to  say:  "Good-day." 

Great  January  frowned. 

"  Who  are  you? "  he  asked  in  a  deep  voice.  "And 
what  do  you  want?  " 

Holena  looked  at  him  rudely. 

"  You  old  fool,  what  business  is  it  of  yours  who  I 
am  or  what  I  want!  " 


THE  TWELVE  MONTHS  19 

She  tossed  her  head  airily  and  walked  off  into  the 
forest. 

The  frown  deepened  on  Great  January's  brow. 
Slowly  he  stood  up  and  waved  the  staff  over  his  head. 
The  fire  died  down.  Then  the  sky  grew  dark;  an  icy 
wind  blew  over  the  mountain;  and  the  snow  began  to 
fall  so  thickly  that  it  looked  as  if  some  one  in  the 
sky  were  emptying  a  huge  feather-bed. 

Helena  could  not  see  a  step  before  her.  She 
struggled  on  and  on.  Now  she  ran  into  a  tree,  now 
she  fell  into  a  snowdrift.  In  spite  of  her  warm  cloak 
her  limbs  began  to  weaken  and  grow  numb.  The 
snow  kept  on  falling,  the  icy  wind  kept  on  blowing. 

Did  Helena  at  last  begin  to  feel  sorry  that  she  had 
been  so  wicked  and  cruel  to  Marushka?  No,  she  did 
not.  Instead,  the  colder  she  grew,  the  more  bitterly 
she  reviled  Marushka  in  her  heart,  the  more  bitterly 
she  reviled  even  the  good  God  Himself. 

Meanwhile  at  home  her  mother  waited  for  her  and 
waited.  She  stood  at  the  window  as  long  as  she 
could,  then  she  opened  the  door  and  tried  to  peer 
through  the  storm.  She  waited  and  waited,  but  no 

Holena  came. 

i 

"  Oh  dear,  oh  dear,  what  can  be  keeping  her? "  she 
thought  to  herself.  "  Does  she  like  those  apples  so 


20  THE  TWELVE  MONTHS 

much  that  she  can't  leave  them,  or  what  is  it?  I  think 
I'll  have  to  go  out  myself  and  find  her." 

So  the  stepmother  put  ner  fur  cloak  about  her 
shoulders,  threw  a  shawl  over  her  head,  and  started 
out. 

She  called:  "Holena!  Holena!"  but  no  one  an- 
swered. 

She  struggled  on  and  on  up  the  mountain  side.  All 
around  the  snow  lay  deep  with  no  track  of  man  or 
beast  in  any  direction. 

"Holena!    Holena!" 

Still  no  answer. 

The  snow  fell  fast.    The  icy  wind  moaned  on. 

At  home  Marushka  prepared  the  dinner  and  looked 
after  the  cow.  Still  neither  Holena  nor  the  step- 
mother returned. 

"  What  can  they  be  doing  all  this  time? "  Marushka 
thought. 

She  ate  her  dinner  alone  and  then  sat  down  to 
work  at  the  distaff. 

The  spindle  filled  and  daylight  faded  and  still  no 
sign  of  Holena  and  her  mother. 

"  Dear  God  in  heaven,  what  can  be  keeping  them! " 
Marushka  cried  anxiously.  She  peered  out  the  window 
to  see  if  they  were  coming. 


THE  TWELVE  MONTHS  21 

The  storm  had  spent  itself.  The  wind  had  died 
down.  The  fields  gleamed  white  in  the  snow  and  up 
in  the  sky  the  frosty  stars  were  twinkling  brightly. 
But  not  a  living  creature  was  in  sight.  Marushka 
knelt  down  and  prayed  for  her  sister  and  mother. 

The  next  morning  she  prepared  breakfast  for  them. 

"  They'll  be  very  cold  and  hungry,"  she  said  to 
herself. 

She  waited  for  them  but  they  didn't  come.  She 
cooked  dinner  for  them  but  still  they  didn't  come.  In 
fact  they  never  came,  for  they  both  froze  to  death  on 
the  mountain. 

So  our  good  little  Marushka  inherited  the  cottage 
and  the  garden  and  the  cow.  After  a  time  she  married 
a  farmer.  He  made  her  -a  good  husband  and  they 
lived  together  very  happily. 


ZLATOVLASKA    THE    GOLDEN-HAIRED 

THE  STORY  OF  YIRIK  AND  THE  SNAKE 


ZLATOVLASKA   THE    GOLDEN-HAIRED 

T  1 1  HERE  was  once  an  old  king  who  was  so  wise 
JL  that  he  was  able  to  understand  the  speech  of 
all  the  animals  in  the  world.  This  is  how  it  happened. 
An  old  woman  came  to  him  one  day  bringing  him  a 
snake  in  a  basket. 

"  If  you  have  this  snake  cooked,"  she  told  him,  "  and 
eat  it  as  you  would  a  fish,  then  you  will  be  able  to 
understand  the  birds  of  the  air,  the  beasts  of  the 
earth,  and  the  fishes  of  the  sea." 

The  king  was  delighted.  He  made  the  old  wise 
woman  a  handsome  present  and  at  once  ordered  his 
cook,  a  youth  named  Yirik,  to  prepare  the  "  fish " 
for  dinner. 

"  But  understand,  Yirik,"  he  said  severely,  "  you're 
to  cook  this  'fish,'  not  eat  it  I  You're  not  to  taste 
one  morsel  of  it!  If  you  do,  you  forfeit  your  head! " 

Yirik  thought  this  a  strange  order. 

"What  kind  of  a  cook  am  I,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"  that  I'm  not  to  sample  my  own  cooking? " 

When  he  opened  the  basket  and  saw  the  "  fish,"  he 
was  further  mystified. 

25 


26          ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED 

"  Um,"  he  murmured,  "  it  looks  like  a  snake  to 
me." 

He  put  it  on  the  fire  and,  when  it  was  broiled  to  a 
turn,  he  ate  a  morsel.  It  had  a  fine  flavor.  He  was 
about  to  take  a  second  bite  when  suddenly  he  heard 
a  little  voice  that  buzzed  in  his  ear  these  words: 

"  Give  us  some,  too!    Give  us  some,  too!  " 

He  looked  around  to  see  who  was  speaking  but 
there  was  no  one  in  the  kitchen.  Only  some  flies  were 
buzzing  about. 

Just  then  outside  a  hissing  voice  called  out: 

"  Where  shall  we  go?    Where  shall  we  go?  " 

A  higher  voice  answered: 

"  To  the  miller's  barley  field!  To  the  miller's  barley 
field!" 

Yirik  looked  out  the  window  and  saw  a  gander  with 
a  flock  of  geese. 

"  Oho!  "  he  said  to  himself,  shaking  his  head.  "  Now 
I  understand!  Now  I  know  what  kind  of  '  fish '  this 
is!  Now  I  know  why  the  poor  cook  was  not  to  take 
a  bite!" 

He  slipped  another  morsel  into  his  mouth,  gar- 
nished the  "  fish  "  carefully  on  a  platter,  and  carried 
it  to  the  king. 

After  dinner  the  king  ordered  his  horse  and  told 


Yirik's  horse  began  to  prance  and  neigh 


ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED          29 

Yirik  to  come  with  him  for  a  ride.  The  king  rode  on 
ahead  and  Yirik  followed. 

As  they  cantered  across  a  green  meadow,  Yirik's 
horse  began  to  prance  and  neigh. 

"  Ho!  Ho!  "  he  said.  "  I  feel  so  light  that  I  could 
jump  over  a  mountain!  " 

"  So  could  I,"  the  king's  horse  said,  "  but  I  have  to 
remember  the  old  bag  of  bones  that  is  perched  on  my 
back.  If  I  were  to  jump  he'd  tumble  off  and  break 
his  neck." 

"And  a  good  thing,  too!"  said  Yirik's  horse. 
"Why  not?  Then  instead  of  such  an  old  bag  of 
bones  you'd  get  a  young  man  to  ride  you  like 
Yirik." 

Yirik  almost  burst  out  laughing  as  he  listened  to 
the  horses'  talk,  but  he  suppressed  his  merriment  lest 
the  king  should  know  that  he  had  eaten  some  of  the 
magic  snake. 

Now  of  course  the  king,  too,  understood  what  the 
horses  were  saying.  He  glanced  apprehensively  at 
Yirik  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  Yirik  was  grinning. 

"  What  are  you  laughing  at,  Yirik?  " 

"Me?"  Yirik  said.  "I'm  not  laughing.  I  was 
just  thinking  of  something  funny." 

"  Urn,"  said  the  king. 


30         ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED 

His  suspicions  against  Yirik  were  aroused.  More- 
over he  was  afraid  to  trust  himself  to  his  horse  any 
longer.  So  he  turned  back  to  the  palace  at  once. 

There  he  ordered  Yirik  to  pour  him  out  a  goblet 
of  wine. 

"  And  I  warn  you,"  he  said,  "  that  you  forfeit  your 
head  if  you  pour  a  drop  too  much  or  too  little." 

Yirik  carefully  tilted  a  great  tankard  and  began 
filling  a  goblet.  As  he  poured  a  bird  suddenly  flew 
into  the  window  pursued  by  another  bird.  The  first 
bird  had  in  its  beak  three  golden  hairs. 

"Give  them  to  me!  Give  them  to  me!  They're 
mine ! "  screamed  the  second  bird. 

"  I  won't!  I  won't!  They're  mine! "  the  first  bird 
answered.  "  I  picked  them  up!  " 

"  Yes,  but  I  saw  them  first!  "  the  other  cried.  "  I 
saw  them  fall  as  the  maiden  sat  and  combed  her  golden 
tresses.  Give  me  two  of  them  and  I'll  let  you  keep 
the  third." 

"No!  No!  No!  I  won't  let  you  have  one  of 
them!" 

The  second  bird  darted  angrily  at  the  first  and 
after  a  struggle  succeeded  in  capturing  one  of  the 
golden  hairs.  One  hair  dropped  to  the  marble  floor, 


ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED          31 

making  as  it  struck  a  musical  tinkle,  and  the  first  bird 
escaped  still  holding  in  its  bill  a  single  hair. 

In  his  excitement  over  the  struggle,  Yirik  over- 
flowed the  goblet. 

"Ha!  Ha!"  said  the  king.  "See  what  you've 
done!  You  forfeit  your  head!  However,  I'll  suspend 
sentence  on  condition  that  you  find  this  golden-haired 
maiden  and  bring  her  to  me  for  a  wife." 

Poor  Yirik  didn't  know  who  the  maiden  was  nor 
where  she  lived.  But  what  could  he  say?  If  he 
wanted  to  keep  his  head,  he  must  undertake  the  quest. 
So  he  saddled  his  horse  and  started  off  at  random. 

His  road  led  him  through  a  forest.  Here  he  came 
upon  a  bush  under  which  some  shepherds  had  kindled 
a  fire.  Sparks  were  falling  on  an  anthill  nearby  and 
the  ants  in  great  excitement  were  running  hither  and 
thither  with  their  eggs. 

"Yirik!"  they  cried.  "Help!  Help,  or  we  shall 
all  be  burned  to  death,  we  and  our  young  ones  in  the 
eggs!" 

Yirik  instantly  dismounted,  cut  down  the  burning 
bush,  and  put  out  the  fire. 

"  Thank  you,  Yirik,  thank  you! "  the  ants  said* 
"  Your  kindness  to  us  this  day  will  not  go  unrewarded 


32          ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED 

If  ever  you  are  in  trouble,  think  of  us  and  we  will 
help  you." 

As  Yirik  rode  on  through  the  forest,  he  came  upon 
two  fledgling  ravens  lying  by  the  path. 

"Help  us,  Yirik,  help  us!"  they  cawed.  "  Our 
father  and  mother  have  thrown  us  out  of  the  nest  in 
yonder  tall  fir  tree  to  fend  for  ourselves.  We  are 
young  and  helpless  and  not  yet  able  to  fly.  Give 
us  some  meat  to  eat  or  we  shall  perish  with 
hunger." 

The  sight  of  the  helpless  fledglings  touched  Yirik 
to  pity.  He  dismounted  instantly,  drew  his  sword,  and 
killed  his  horse.  Then  he  fed  the  starving  birds  the 
meat  they  needed. 

"  Thank  you,  Yirik,  thank  you! "  the  little  ravens 
croaked.  "  You  have  saved  our  lives  this  day.  Your 
kindness  will  not  go  unrewarded.  If  ever  you  are  in 
trouble,  think  of  us  and  we  will  help  you." 

Yirik  left  the  young  ravens  and  pushed  on  afoot. 
The  path  through  the  forest  was  long  and  wearisome. 
It  led  out  finally  on  the  seashore. 

On  the  beach  two  fishermen  were  quarreling  over  a 
big  fish  with  golden  scales  that  lay  gasping  on  the 
sand. 

"  It's  mine,  I  tell  you! "  one  of  the  men  was  shout- 


ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED          33 

ing.  "  It  was  caught  in  my  net,  so  of  course  it's 
mine!" 

To  this  the  other  one  shouted  back: 

"But  your  net  would  never  have  caught  a  fish  if 
you  hadn't  been  out  in  my  boat  and  if  I  hadn't  helped 
you! " 

"  Give  me  tEis  one,"  the  first  man  said,  "  and  I'll 
let  you  have  the  next  one." 

"No!  You  take  the  next  one!"  the  other  said. 
"This  one's  mine!" 

So  they  kept  on  arguing  to  no  purpose  until  Yirik 
went  up  to  them  and  said: 

"  Let  me  decide  this  for  you.  Suppose  you  sell  me 
the  fish  and  then  divide  the  money." 

He  offered  them  all  the  money  the  king  had  given 
him  for  his  journey.  The  fishermen,  delighted  at  the 
offer,  at  once  agreed.  Yirik  handed  them  over  the 
money  and  then,  taking  the  gasping  fish  in  his  hand, 
he  threw  it  back  into  the  sea. 

When  the  fish  had  caught  its  breath,  it  rose  on  a 
wave  and  called  out  to  Yirik: 

"Thank  you,  Yirik,  thank  you.  You  have  saved 
my  life  this  day.  Your  kindness  will  not  go  unre- 
warded. If  ever  you  are  in  trouble,  think  of  me  and 
I  will  help  you." 


34.          ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED 

With  that  the  golden  fish  flicked  its  tail  and  dis- 
appeared in  the  water. 

"Where  are  you  going, v  Yirik? "  the  fishermen 
asked. 

"  I'm  going  in  quest  of  a  golden-haired  maiden 
whom  my  master,  the  king,  wished  to  make  his  wife.'* 

"  He  must  mean  the  Princess  Zlatovlaska,"  the 
fishermen  said  to  each  other. 

"The  Princess  Zlatovlaska?"  Yirik  repeated. 
"Who  is  she?" 

"  She's  the  golden-haired  daughter  of  the  King  of 
the  Crystal  Palace.  Do  you  see  the  faint  outlines  of 
an  island  over  yonder?  That's  where  she  lives.  The 
king  has  twelve  daughters  but  Zlatovlaska  alone  has 
golden  hair.  Each  morning  at  dawn  a  wonderful  glow 
spreads  over  land  and  sea.  That's  Zlatovlaska  comb- 
ing her  golden  hair." 

The  fishermen  conferred  apart  for  a  moment  and 
then  said: 

"  Yirik,  you  settled  our  dispute  for  us  and  now  in 
return  we'll  row  you  over  to  the  island." 

So  they  rowed  Yirik  over  to  the  Island  of  the 
Crystal  Palace  and  left  him  there  with  the  warning 
that  the  king  would  probably  try  to  palm  off  on  him 
one  of  the  dark-haired  princesses. 


ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED          85 

Yirik  at  once  presented  himself  at  the  palace,  got 
an  audience  with  the  king,  and  declared  his  mission. 

"  H'm,"  the  king  said.  "  So  your  master  desires  the 
hand  of  my  daughter,  the  Princess  Zlatovlaska,  eh? 
H'm,  h'm.  Well,  I  see  no  objection  to  your  master 
as  a  son-in-law,  but  of  course  before  I  entrust  the 
princess  into  your  hands  you  must  prove  yourself 
worthy.  I  tell  you  what  I'll  do:  I'll  give  you  three 
tasks  to  perform.  Be  ready  for  the  first  one  to- 
morrow." 

Early  the  next  day  the  king  said  to  Yirik: 

"  My  daughter,  Zlatovlaska,  had  a  precious  neck- 
lace of  pearls.  She  was  walking  in  the  meadow  over 
yonder  when  the  string  broke  and  the  pearls  rolled 
away  in  the  tall  grasses.  Now  your  first  task  is  to 
gather  up  every  last  one  of  those  pearls  and  hand 
them  to  me  before  sundown." 

Yirik  went  to  the  meadow  and  when  he  saw  how 
broad  it  was  and  how  thickly  covered  with  tall  grasses 
his  heart  sank  for  he  realized  that  he  could  never 
search  over  the  whole  of  it  in  one  day.  However,  he 
got  down  on  his  hands  and  knees  and  began  to 
hunt. 

Midday  came  and  he  had  not  yet  found  a  single 
pearl. 


36          ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED 

"  Oh  dear,"  he  thought  to  himself  in  despair,  "  if 
only  my  ants  were  here,  they  could  help  me! " 

He  had  no  sooner  spoken  than  a  million  little  voices 
answered: 

"  We  are  here  and  we're  here  to  help  you! " 

And  sure  enough  there  they  were,  the  very  ants  that 
he  supposed  were  far  away! 

"  What  do  you  want  us  to  do? "  they  asked. 

"Find  me  all  the  pearls  that  are  scattered  in  this 
meadow.  I  can't  find  one  of  them." 

Instantly  the  ants  scurried  hither  and  thither  and 
soon  they  began  bringing  him  the  pearls  one  by  one. 
Yirik  strung  them  together  until  the  necklace  seemed 
complete. 

"  Are  there  any  more? "  he  asked. 

He  was  about  to  tie  the  string  together  when  a 
lame  ant,  whose  foot  had  been  burned  in  the  fire, 
hobbled  up,  crying: 

"Wait,  Yirik,  don't  tie  the  string  yet!  Here's  the 
last  pearl!" 

Yirik  thanked  the  ants  for  their  help  and  at  sun- 
down carried  the  string  of  pearls  to  the  king.  The 
king  counted  the  pearls  and,  to  his  surprise,  found 
that  not  one  was  missing. 


ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED          37 

"  You've  done  this  well,"  he  said.  "  Tomorrow  I'll 
give  you  your  second  task." 

The  next  day  when  Yirik  presented  himself,  the 
king  said: 

"  While  my  daughter,  Zlatovlaska,  was  bathing  in  the 
sea,  a  golden  ring  slipped  from  her  finger  and  dis- 
appeared. Your  task  is  to  find  me  this  ring  before 
sundown." 

Yirik  went  down  to  the  seashore  and  as  he  walked 
along  the  beach  his  heart  grew  heavy  as  he  realized  the 
difficulty  of  the  task  before  him.  The  sea  was  clear 
but  so  deep  that  he  couldn't  even  see  the  bottom. 
How  then  could  he  find  the  ring? 

"  Oh  dear,"  he  said  aloud,  "  if  only  the  golden  fish 
were  here!  It  could  help  me." 

"  I  am  here,"  a  voice  said,  "  and  I'm  here  to  help 
you." 

And  there  was  the  golden  fish  on  the  crest  of  a 
wave,  gleaming  like  a  flash  of  fiie! 

"  What  do  you  want  me  to  do?  "  it  said. 

"  Find  me  a  golden  ring  that  lies  somewhere  on  the 
bottom  of  the  sea." 

"  Ah,  a  golden  ring?  A  moment  ago  I  met  a  pike," 
the  fish  said,  "  that  had  just  such  a  golden  ring.  Wait 
for  me  here  and  I'll  go  find  the  pike." 


38          ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED 

In  a  few  moments  the  golden  fish  returned  with  the 
pike  and  sure  enough  it  was  Zlatovlaska's  ring  that  the 
pike  was  carrying. 

That  evening  at  sundown  the  king  acknowledged 
that  Yirik  had  accomplished  his  second  task.- 

The  next  day  the  king  said: 

"  I  could  never  allow  my  daughter,  Zlatovlaska,  the 
Golden-Haired,  to  go  to  the  kingdom  of  your  master 
unless  she  carried  with  her  two  flasks,  one  filled  with 
the  Water  of  Life,  the  other  with  the  Water  of  Death. 
So  today  for  a  third  task  I  set  you  this:  to  bring  the 
princess  a  flask  of  the  Water  of  Life  and  a  flask  of 
the  Water  of  Death." 

Yirik  had  no  idea  which  way  to  turn.  He  had 
heard  of  the  Waters  of  Life  and  Death,  but  all  he 
knew  about  them  was  that  their  springs  were  far  away 
beyond  the  Red  Sea.  He  left  the  Crystal  Palace  and 
walked  off  aimlessly  until  his  feet  had  carried  him  of 
themselves  into  a  dark  forest. 

"  If  only  those  young  ravens  were  here,"  he  said 
aloud,  "  they  could  help  me !  " 

Instantly  he  heard  a  loud,  "Caw!  Caw!"  and  two 
ravens  flew  down  to  him,  saying: 

"We  are  here!  We  are  here  to  help  you!  What 
do  you  want  us  to  do?" 


ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED          39 

"  I  have  to  bring  the  king  a  flask  of  the  Water  of 
Life  and  a  flask  of  the  Water  of  Death  and  I  don't 
know  where  the  springs  are.  Do  you  know? " 

"  Yes,  we  know,"  the  ravens  said.  "  Wait  here  and 
we'll  soon  fetch  you  water  from  both  springs." 

They  flew  off  and  in  a  short  time  returned,  each 
bearing  a  gourd  of  the  precious  water. 

Yirik  thanked  the  ravens  and  carefully  filled  his  two 
flasks. 

As  he  was  leaving  the  forest,  he  came  upon  a  great 
spider  web.  An  ugly  spider  sat  in  the  middle  of  it 
sucking  a  fly.  Yirik  took  a  drop  of  the  Water  of 
Death  and  flicked  it  on  the  spider.  The  spider  doubled 
up  dead  and  fell  to  the  ground  like  a  ripe  cherry. 

Then  Yirik  sprinkled  a  drop  of  Living  Water  on 
the  fly.  The  fly  instantly  revived,  pulled  itself  out  of 
the  web,  and  flew  about  happy  and  free  once  again. 

"  Thank  you,  Yirik,"  it  buzzed,  "  thank  you  for 
bringing  me  back  to  life.  You  won't  be  sorry.  Just 
wait  and  you'll  soon  see  that  I'll  reward  you! " 

When  Yirik  returned  to  the  palace  and  presented 
the  two  flasks,  the  king  said: 

"  But  one  thing  yet  remains.  You  may  take  Zlatov- 
laska,  the  Golden-Haired,  but  you  must  yourself  pick 
her  out  from  among  the  twelve  sisters." 


40          ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED 

The  king  led  Yirik  into  a  great  hall.  The  twelve 
princesses  were  seated  about  a  table,  beautiful  maidens 
all  and  each  looking  much  like  the  others.  Yirik  could 
not  tell  which  was  Zlatovlaska,  the  Golden-Haired,  for 
each  princess  wore  a  long  heavy  white  veil  so  draped 
over  her  head  and  shoulders  that  it  completely  covered 
her  hair. 

"  Here  are  my  twelve  daughters,"  the  king  said. 
"  One  of  them  is  Zlatovlaska,  the  Golden-Haired. 
Pick  her  out  and  you  may  lead  her  at  once  to  your 
master.  If  you  fail  to  pick  her  out,  then  you  must 
depart  without  her." 

In  dismay  Yirik  looked  from  sister  to  sister.  There 
was  nothing  to  show  him  which  was  Zlatovlaska,  the 
Golden-Haired.  How  was  he  to  find  out? 

Suddenly  he  heard  a  buzzing  in  his  ear  and  a  little 
voice  whispered: 

"Courage,  Yirik,  courage!     I'll  help  you!" 

He  turned  his  head  quickly  and  there  was  the  fly 
he  had  rescued  from  the  spider. 

"  Walk  slowly  by  each  princess,"  the  fly  said,  "  and 
I'll  tell  you  when  you  come  to  Zlatovlaska,  the  Golden- 
Haired." 

Yirik  did  as  the  fly  ordered.  He  stopped  a  moment 
before  the  first  princess  until  the  fly  buzzed: 


ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED          41 

"  Not  that  one!    Not  that  one!  " 

He  went  on  to  the  next  princess  and  again  the  fly 
buzzed : 

"  Not  that  one!    Not  that  one! " 

So  he  went  on  from  princess  to  princess  until  at 
last  the  fly  buzzed  out: 

"  Yes,  that  one!    That  one!  " 

So  Yirik  remained  standing  where  he  was  and  said 
to  the  king: 

"  This,  I  think,  is  Zlatovlaska,  the  Golden-Haired." 

"  You  have  guessed  right,"  the  king  said. 

At  that  Zlatovlaska  removed  the  white  veil  from 
her  head  and  her  lovely  hair  tumbled  down  to  her  feet 
like  a  golden  cascade.  It  shimmered  and  glowed  like 
the  sun  in  the  early  morning  when  he  peeps  over  the 
mountain  top.  Yirik  stared  until  the  brightness 
dimmed  his  sight. 

The  king  immediately  prepared  Zlatovlaska,  the 
Golden-Haired,  for  her  journey.  He  gave  her  the 
two  precious  flasks  of  water;  he  arranged  a  fitting 
escort;  and  then  with  his  blessing  he  sent  her  forth 
under  Yirik's  care. 

Yirik  conducted  her  safely  to  his  master. 

When  the  old  king  saw  the  lovely  princess  that 
Yirik  had  found  for  him,  his  eyes  blinked  with  satis- 


42          ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED 

faction,  he  capered  about  like  a  spring  lamb,  and  he 
ordered  that  immediate  preparations  be  made  for  the 
wedding.  He  was  most  grateful  to  Yirik  and  thanked 
him  again  and  again. 

"  My  dear  boy,"  he  said,  "  I  had  expected  to  have 
you  hanged  for  your  disobedience  and  let  the  ravens 
pick  your  bones.  But  now,  to  show  you  how  grate- 
ful I  am  for  the  beautiful  bride  you  have  found  me, 
I'm  not  going  to  have  you  hanged  at  all.  Instead,  I 
shall  have  you  beheaded  and  then  given  a  decent 
burial." 

The  execution  took  place  at  once  in  order  to  be  out 
of  the  way  before  the  wedding. 

"  It's  a  great  pity  he  had  to  die,"  the  king  said  as 
the  executioner  cut  off  Yirik's  head.  "  He  has  cer- 
tainly been  a  faithful  servant." 

Zlatovlaska,  the  Golden-Haired,  asked  if  she  might 
have  his  severed  head  and  body.  The  king  who  was 
too  madly  in  love  to  refuse  her  anything  said:  "Yes." 

So  Zlatovlaska  took  the  body  and  the  head  and  put 
them  together.  Then  she  sprinkled  them  with  the 
Water  of  Death.  Instantly  the  wound  closed  and 
soon  it  healed  so  completely  that  there  wasn't  even 
a  scar  left. 

Yirik  lay  there  lifeless  but  looking  merely  as  if  he 


ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED          43 

were  asleep.  Zlatovlaska  sprinkled  him  with  the 
Water  of  Life  and  immediately  his  dead  limbs  stirred. 
Then  he  opened  his  eyes  and  sat  up.  Life  poured 
through  his  veins  and  he  sprang  to  his  feet  younger, 
fresher,  handsomer  than  before. 

The  old  king  was  filled  with  envy. 

"  I,  too,"  he  cried,  "  wish  to  be  made  young  and 
handsome! " 

He  commanded  the  executioner  to  cut  off  his  head 
and  he  told  Zlatovlaska  to  sprinkle  him  afterwards 
with  the  Water  of  Life. 

The  executioner  did  as  he  was  told.  Then  Zlatov- 
laska sprinkled  the  old  king's  head  and  body  with  the 
Water  of  Life.  Nothing  happened.  Zlatovlaska  kept 
on  sprinkling  the  Water  of  Life  until  there  was  no 
more  left. 

"  Do  you  know,"  the  princess  said  to  Yirik,  "  I  be- 
lieve I  should  have  used  the  Water  of  Death  first." 

So  now  she  sprinkled  the  body  and  head  with  the 
Water  of  Death  and,  sure  enough,  they  grew  together 
at  once.  But  of  course  there  was  no  life  in  them. 
And  of  course  there  was  no  possible  way  of  putting 
life  into  them  because  the  Water  of  Life  was  all  gone. 
So  the  old  king  remained  dead. 

"  This  will  never  do,"  the  people  said.     "  We  must 


44          ZLATOVLASKA  THE  GOLDEN-HAIRED 

have  a  king.  And  with  the  wedding  feast  and  every- 
thing prepared  we  simply  must  have  a  wedding,  too. 
If  Zlatovlaska,  the  Golden-Haired,  cannot  marry  the 
old  king,  she'll  have  to  marry  some  one  else.  Now 
who  shall  it  be?  " 

Some  one  suggested  Yirik  because  he  was  young 
and  handsome  and  because,  like  the  old  king,  he  could 
understand  the  birds  and  the  beasts. 

"Yirik!"  the  people  cried.  "Let  Yirik  be  our 
king!" 

And  Zlatovlaska,  the  Golden-Haired,  who  had  long 
since  fallen  in  love  with  handsome  Yirik,  consented  to 
have  the  wedding  at  once  in  order  that  the  feast 
already  prepared  might  not  be  wasted. 

So  Yirik  and  Zlatovlaska,  the  Golden-Haired,  were 
married  and  they  ruled  so  well  and  they  lived  so 
Happily  that  to  this  day  when  people  say  of  some 
one:  "  He's  as  happy  as  a  king,"  they  are  thinking 
of  King  Yirik,  and  when  they  say  of  some  one: 
"  She's  as  beautiful  as  a  queen,"  they  are  thinking  of 
Zlatovlaska,  the  Golden-Haired. 


THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY 

THE  STORY  OF  A  PRINCESS  WHO  LEARNED 
TO   SAY    "  PLEASE  " 


THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY 

THERE  was  once  a  king  who  had  a  beautiful 
daughter.  When  it  was  time  for  her  to  get 
a  husband,  the  king  set  a  day  and  invited  all  the 
neighboring  princes  to  come  and  see  her. 

One  of  these  princes  decided  that  he  would  like  to 
have  a  look  at  the  princess  before  the  others.  So  he 
dressed  himself  in  a  shepherd's  costume:  a  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  a  blue  smock,  a  green  vest,  tight 
breeches  to  the  knees,  thick  woolen  stockings,  and 
sandals.  Thus  disguised  he  set  out  for  the  kingdom 
where  the  princess  lived.  All  he  took  with  him  were 
four  loaves  of  bread  to  eat  on  the  way. 

He  hadn't  gone  far  before  he  met  a  beggar  who 
begged  him,  in  God's  name,  for  a  piece  of  bread. 
The  prince  at  once  gave  him  one  of  the  four  loaves. 
A  little  farther  on  a  second  beggar  held  out  his  hand 
and  begged  for  a  piece  of  bread.  To  him  the  prince 
gave  the  second  loaf.  To  a  third  beggar  he  gave 
the  third  loaf,  and  to  a  fourth  beggar  the  last  loaf, 

The  fourth  beggar  said  to  him: 

"Prince  in  shepherd's  guise,  your  charity  will  not 

47 


48  THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY 

go  unrewarded.  Here  are  four  gifts  for  you,  one  for 
each  of  the  loaves  of  bread  that  you  have  given  away 
this  day.  Take  this  whip  which  has  the  power  of 
killing  any  one  it  strikes  however  gentle  the  blow. 
Take  this  beggar's  wallet.  It  has  in  it  some  bread  and 
cheese,  but  not  common  bread  and  cheese  for,  no 
matter  how  much  of  it  you  eat,  there  will  always  be 
some  left.  Take  this  shepherd's  ax.  If  ever  you  have 
to  leave  your  sheep  alone,  plant  it  in  the  earth  and 
the  sheep,  instead  of  straying,  will  graze  around  it. 
Last,  here  is  a  shepherd's  pipe.  When  you  blow  upon 
it  your  sheep  will  dance  and  play.  Farewell  and  good 
luck  go  with  you." 

The  prince  thanked  the  beggar  for  his  gifts  and 
then  trudged  on  to  the  kingdom  where  the  beautiful 
princess  lived.  He  presented  himself  at  the  palace 
as  a  shepherd  in  quest  of  work  and  he  told  them  his 
name  was  Yan.  The  king  liked  his  appearance  and 
so  the  next  day  he  was  put  in  charge  of  a  flock  of 
sheep  which  he  drove  up  the  mountain  side  to  pasture. 

He  planted  his  shepherd's  ax  in  the  midst  of  a 
meadow  and,  leaving  his  sheep  to  graze  about  it,  he 
went  off  into  the  forest  hunting  adventures.  There 
he  came  upon  a  castle  where  a  giant  was  busy  cook- 
ing his  dinner  in  a  big  saucepan. 


THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY  49 

"  Good-day  to  you,"  Yan  said  politely. 

The  giant,  who  was  a  rude,  unmannerly  fellow, 
bellowed  out: 

"  It  won't  take  me  long  to  finish  you,  you  young 
whippersnapper ! " 

He  raised  a  great  iron  club  to  strike  Yan  but  Yan, 
quick  as  thought,  flicked  the  giant  with  his  whip  and 
the  huge  fellow  toppled  over  dead. 

The  next  day  he  returned  to  the  castle  and  found 
another  giant  in  possession. 

"  Ho,  ho!  "  he  roared  on  sight  of  Yan.  "  What,  you 
young  whippersnapper,  back  again!  You  killed  my 
brother  yesterday  and  now  I'll  kill  you!" 

He  raised  his  great  iron  club  to  strike  Yan,  but  Yan 
skipped  nimbly  aside.  Then  he  flicked  the  giant  with 
his  whip  and  the  huge  fellow  toppled  over  dead. 

When  Yan  returned  to  the  castle  the  third  day 
there  were  no  more  giants  about.  So  he  wandered 
from  room  to  room  to  see  what  treasures  were  there. 

In  one  room  he  found  a  big  chest.  He  struck  it 
smartly  and  immediately  two  burly  men  jumped  out 
and,  bowing  low  before  him,  said: 

"  What  does  the  master  of  the  castle  desire?  " 

"  Show  me  everything  there  is  to  be  seen,"  Yan 
ordered. 


50  THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY 

So  the  two  servants  of  the  chest  showed  him  every- 
thing— jewels  and  treasures  and  gold.  Then  they  led 
him  out  into  the  gardens  where  the  most  wonderful 
flowers  in  the  world  were  blooming.  Yan  plucked 
some  of  these  and  made  them  into  a  nosegay. 

That  afternoon,  as  he  drove  home  his  sheep,  he 
played  on  his  magic  pipe  and  the  sheep,  pairing  off 
two  by  two,  began  to  dance  and  frisk  about  him.  All 
the  people  in  the  village  ran  out  to  see  the  strange 
sight  and  laughed  and  clapped  their  hands  for  joy. 

The  princess  ran  to  the  palace  window  and  when  she 
saw  the  sheep  dancing  two  by  two  she,  too,  laughed 
and  clapped  her  hands.  Then  the  wind  whiffed  her  a 
smell  of  the  wonderful  nosegay  that  Yan  was  carry- 
ing and  she  said  to  her  serving  maid: 

"  Run  down  to  the  shepherd  and  tell  him  the  prin- 
cess desires  his  nosegay." 

The  serving  maid  delivered  the  message  to  Yan, 
but  he  shook  his  head  and  said: 

"  Tell  your  mistress  that  whoever  wants  this  nose- 
gay must  come  herself  and  say :  '  Yanitchko,  give  me 
that  nosegay.' " 

When  the  princess  heard  this,  she  laughed  and 
said: 

"  What  an  odd  shepherd!    I  see  I  must  go  myself." 


THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY  51 

So  the  princess  herself  came  out  to  Yan  and 
said: 

"  Yanitchko,  give  me  that  nosegay." 

But  Yan  smiled  and  shook  his  head. 

"Whoever  wants  this  nosegay  must  say:  'Yan- 
itchko, please  give  me  that  nosegay/  " 

The  Princess  was  a  merry  girl,  so  she  laughed  and 
said: 

"  Yanitchko,  please  give  me  that  nosegay." 

Yan  gave  it  to  her  at  once  and  she  thanked  him 
sweetly. 

The  next  day  Yan  went  again  to  the  castle  garden 
and  plucked  another  nosegay.  Then  in  the  afternoon 
he  drove  his  sheep  through  the  village  as  before,  play- 
ing his  pipe.  The  princess  was  standing  at  the  palace 
window  waiting  to  see  him.  When  the  wind  brought 
her  a  whiff  of  the  fresh  nosegay  that  was  even  more 
fragrant  than  the  first  one,  she  ran  out  to  Yan  and 
said: 

"  Yanitchko,  please  give  me  that  nosegay." 

But  Yan  smiled  and  shook  his  head. 

"Whoever  wants  this  nosegay  must  say:  'My  dear 
Yanitchko,  I  beg  you  most  politely  please  to  give 
me  that  nosegay.' " 

"  My  dear  Yanitchko,"  the  princess  repeated   de- 


52  THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY 

murely,  "  I  beg  you  most  politely  please  to  give  me 
that  nosegay." 

So  Yan  gave  her  the  second  nosegay.  The  princess 
put  it  in  her  window  and  the  fragrance  filled  the 
village  until  people  from  far  and  near  came  to  see  it. 

After  that  every  day  Yan  gathered  a  nosegay  for 
the  princess  and  every  day  the  princess  stood  at  the 
palace  window  waiting  to  see  the  handsome  shepherd. 
And  always  when  she  asked  for  the  nosegay,  she  said: 
"  Please." 

In  this  way  a  month  went  by  and  the  day  arrived 
when  the  neighboring  princes  were  to  come  to  meet  the 
princess.  They  were  to  come  in  fine  array,  the  people 
said,  and  the  princess  had  ready  a  kerchief  and  a  ring 
for  the  one  who  would  please  her  most. 

Yan  planted  the  ax  in  the  meadow  and,  leaving  the 
sheep  to  graze  about  it,  went  to  the  castle  where  he 
ordered  the  servants  of  the  chest  to  dress  him  as  be- 
fitted his  rank.  They  put  a  white  suit  upon  him  and 
gave  him  a  white  horse  with  trappings  of  silver. 

So  he  rode  to  the  palace  and  took  his  place  with 
the  other  princes  but  behind  them  so  that  the  princess 
had  to  crane  her  neck  to  see  him. 

One  by  one  the  various  princes  rode  by  the  princess 
but  to  none  of  them  did  the  princess  give  her  kerchief 


THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY  53 

and  ring.  Yan  was  the  last  to  salute  her,  and  instantly 
she  handed  him  her  favors. 

Then  before  the  king  or  the  other  suitors  could 
speak  to  him,  Yan  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  rode 
off. 

That  evening  as  usual  when  he  was  driving  home 
his  sheep,  the  princess  ran  out  to  him  and  said: 

"  Yan,  it  was  you!  " 

But  Yan  laughed  and  put  her  off. 

"  How  can  a  poor  shepherd  be  a  prince?  "  he  asked. 

The  princess  was  not  convinced  and  she  said  in 
another  month,  when  the  princes  were  to  come  again, 
she  would  find  out. 

So  for  another  month  Yan  tended  sheep  and  plucked 
nosegays  for  the  merry  little  princess  and  the  princess 
waited  for  him  at  the  palace  window  every  afternoon 
and  when  she  saw  him  she  always  spoke  to  him 
politely  and  said:  "Please." 

When  the  day  for  the  second  meeting  of  the  princes 
came,  the  servants  of  the  chest  arrayed  Yan  in  a  suit 
of  red  and  gave  him  a  sorrel  horse  with  trappings  of 
gold.  Yan  again  rode  to  the  palace  and  took  his  place 
with  the  other  princes  but  behind  them  so  that  the 
princess  had  to  crane  her  neck  to  see  him. 

Again  the  suitors  rode  by  the  princess  one  by  one, 


54  THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY 

but  at  each  of  them  she  shook  her  head  impatiently  and 
kept  her  kerchief  and  ring  until  Yan  saluted  her. 

Instantly  the  ceremony  was  over,  Yan  put  spurs  to 
his  horse  and  rode  off  and,  although  the  king  sent 
after  him  to  bring  him  back,  Yan  was  able  to 
escape. 

That  evening  when  he  was  driving  home  his  sheep 
the  princess  ran  out  to  him  and  said: 

"  Yanitchko,  it  was  you!    I  know  it  was!" 

But  again  Yan  laughed  and  put  her  off  and  asked 
her  how  she  could  think  such  a  thing  of  a  poor  shep- 
herd. 

Again  the  princess  was  not  convinced  and  she  said 
in  another  month,  when  the  princes  were  to  come  for 
the  third  and  last  time,  she  would  make  sure. 

So  for  another  month  Yan  tended  his  sheep  and 
plucked  nosegays  for  the  merry  little  princess  and  the 
princess  waited  for  him  at  the  palace  window  every 
afternoon  and,  when  she  saw  him,  she  always  said 
politely:  "Please." 

For  the  third  meeting  of  the  princes  the  servants 
of  the  chest  arrayed  Yan  in  a  gorgeous  suit  of  black 
and  gave  him  a  black  horse  with  golden  trappings 
studded  in  diamonds.  He  rode  to  the  palace  and  took 
his  place  behind  the  other  suitors.  Things  went  as 


THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY  55 

before  and  again  the  princess  saved  her  kerchief  and 
ring  for  him. 

This  time  when  he  tried  to  ride  off  the  other  suitors 
surrounded  him  and,  before  he  escaped,  one  of  them 
wounded  him  on  the  foot. 

He  galloped  back  to  the  castle  in  the  forest, 
dressed  once  again  in  his  shepherd's  clothes,  and  re- 
turned to  the  meadow  where  his  sheep  were  grazing. 
There  he  sat  down  and  bound  up  his  wounded  foot 
in  the  kerchief  which  the  princess  had  given  him. 
Then,  when  he  had  eaten  some  bread  and  cheese  from 
his  magic  wallet,  he  stretched  himself  out  in  the 
sun  and  fell  asleep. 

Meanwhile  the  princess,  who  was  sorely  vexed  that 
her  mysterious  suitor  had  again  escaped,  slipped  out 
of  the  palace  and  ran  up  the  mountain  path  to  see 
for  herself  whether  the  shepherd  were  really  with  his 
sheep.  She  found  Yan  asleep  and,  when  she  saw  her 
kerchief  bound  about  his  foot,  she  knew  that  he  was 
the  prince. 

She  woke  him  up  and  cried: 

"  You  are  he!    You  know  you  are! " 

Yan  looked  at  her  and  laughed  and  he  asked: 

"  How  can  I  be  a  prince?  " 

"But  I  know  you  are!"  the  princess  said.     "Oh, 


56  THE  SHEPHERD'S  NOSEGAY 

Yanitchko,  dear  Yanitchko,  I  beg  you  please  to  tell 
me!" 

So  then  Yan,  because  he  always  did  anything  the 
princess  asked  him  when  she  said:  "Please,"  told  her 
his  true  name  and  his  rank. 

The  princess,  overjoyed  to  hear  that  her  dear  shep- 
herd was  really  a  prince,  carried  him  off  to  her  father, 
the  king. 

"  This  is  the  man  I  shall  marry,"  she  said,  "  this 
and  none  other." 

So  Yan  and  the  merry  little  princess  were  married 
and  lived  very  happily.  And  the  people  of  the 
country  when  they  speak  of  the  princess  always  say: 

"  That's  a  princess  for  you !  Why,  even  if  she  is  a 
princess,  she  always  says  *  Please '  to  her  own  hus- 
bandl " 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

THE  STORY  OF  A  HERO  WHOSE  MOTHER 
LOVED    A   DRAGON 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

f  |  iHERE  was  once  a  mother  who  had  an  only  son. 
JL  "  He  shall  be  a  hero,"  she  said,  "  and  his  name 
shall  be  Vitazko,  the  Victorious." 

She  suckled  him  for  twice  seven  years  and  then,  to 
try  his  strength,  she  led  him  out  to  the  forest  and 
bade  him  pull  up  a  fir-tree  by  the  roots. 

When  the  boy  was  not  strong  enough  to  do  this, 
she  took  him  home  and  suckled  him  for  another  seven 
years.  Then  when  she  had  suckled  him  for  thrice 
seven  years,  she  led  him  out  to  the  forest  again  and 
ordered  him  to  pull  up  a  beech-tree  by  its  roots. 

The  youth  laid  hold  on  the  tree  and  with  one  mighty 
pull  uprooted  it. 

"  Now,  my  son,  you  are  strong  enough,"  the  mother 
said.  "  Now  you  are  worthy  of  your  name  Vitazko. 
Forget  not  the  mother  who  has  suckled  you  for  thrice 
seven  years  but,  now  that  you  are  grown,  take  care  of 
her." 

"  I  will,  my  mother,"  Vitazko  promised.  "  Only  tell 
me  what  you  want  me  to  do." 

"First,"  the  mother  said,  "go  out  into  the  world 

59 


60  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

and  find  me  a  splendid  dwelling  where  I  may  live  in 
peace  and  plenty." 

Taking  in  his  hand  the  uprooted  beech-tree  as  a  club 
and  armed  only  with  it,  Vitazko  set  forth.  He  fol- 
lowed the  wind  here  and  there  and  the  other  place 
and  it  led  him  at  last  to  a  fine  castle. 

This  castle  was  inhabited  by  dragons.  Vitazko 
pounded  on  the  castle  gates  but  the  dragons  refused 
to  admit  him.  Thereupon  the  young  hero  battered 
down  the  gates,  pursued  the  dragons  from  room  to 
room  of  the  castle,  and  slaughtered  them  all. 

When  he  had  thrown  the  last  of  them  over  the  wall, 
he  took  possession  of  the  castle.  He  found  nine 
spacious  chambers  and  a  tenth  one  the  door  of  which 
was  closed. 

Vitazko  opened  the  door  and  in  the  room  he  found 
a  dragon.  This  dragon  was  a  prisoner.  Three  iron 
hoops  were  fastened  about  his  body  and  these  were 
chained  to  the  wall. 

"Oho!"  Vitazko  cried.  "Another  dragon!  What 
are  you  doing  here?  " 

"  Me?  "  the  dragon  said.  "  I'm  not  doing  anything 
but  just  sitting  here.  My  brothers  imprisoned  me. 
Unchain  me,  Vitazko!  If  you  do,  I  will  reward  you 
richly." 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  61 

"I  will  not!"  Vitazko  said.  "A  fine  scamp  you 
must  be  if  your  own  brothers  had  to  chain  you  up! 
No !  You  stay  where  you  are !  " 

With  that  Vitazko  slammed  the  door  in  the 
dragon's  face  and  left  him. 

Then  he  went  for  his  mother  and  brought  her  to  the 
castle. 

"  Here,  my  mother,"  he  said,  "  is  the  dwelling  I 
have  won  for  you." 

He  took  her  through  the  nine  spacious  chambers 
and  showed  her  everything.  At  the  tenth  door  he 
said: 

"  This  door  is  not  to  be  opened.  All  the  castle 
belongs  to  you  except  this  room  only.  See  to  it  that 
this  door  is  never  opened.  If  it  is  opened,  an  evil  fate 
will  overtake  you." 

Then  Vitazko  took  his  beechen  club  and  went  out 
hunting. 

He  was  hardly  gone  before  his  mother  sat  down 
before  the  tenth  door  and  said  to  herself  over  and 
over: 

"  I  wonder  what  can  be  in  that  room  that  Vitazko 
doesn't  want  me  to  open  the  door."  ,, 

At  last  when  she  could  restrain  her  curiosity  no 
longer,  she  opened  the  door. 


62  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

"  Mercy  on  us! "  she  said  when  she  saw  the  dragon. 
"  Who  are  you?  And  what  are  you  doing  here?  " 

"  Me? "  the  dragon  said.  "  I'm  only  a  poor  harm- 
less dragon.  They  call  me  Sharkan.  My  brothers 
chained  me  here.  They  would  have  freed  me  long  ago 
but  Vitazko  killed  them.  Unchain  me,  dear  lady,  and 
I  will  reward  you  richly." 

He  begged  her  and  cajoled  her  until  she  was  half 
minded  to  do  as  he  asked. 

"  You  are  very  beautiful,"  Sharkan  said.  "  If  only 
I  were  free  I  would  make  you  my  wife." 

"Ah,  but  what  would  Vitazko  say  to  that?"  the 
woman  asked. 

"  Vitazko? "  repeated  Sharkan.  "  Do  you  fear  your 
own  son?  A  dutiful  son  he  is,  to  give  you  the  castle 
and  then  forbid  you  to  enter  this  room!  If  you  were 
to  marry  me,  we  should  soon  get  rid  of  this  Vitazko 
and  then  live  here  together  in  peace  and  merriment." 

The  woman  listened  to  these  cajoling  words  until  she 
was  completely  won  over. 

"  But  how,  dear  Sharkan,  shall  I  unchain  you? " 

He  told  her  to  go  to  the  cellar  and  from  a  certain 
cask  to  draw  him  a  goblet  of  wine.  Instantly  he 
drank  the  wine,  bang!  the  first  iron  hoop  burst  asunder. 
He  drank  a  second  goblet,  and  the  second  iron  hoop 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  63 

fell  from  him.  He  drank  a  third  goblet  and,  lo!  he 
was  free. 

Then  in  dismay  at  what  she  had  done,  the  woman 
cried: 

"Ah  me,  what  will  Vitazko  say  when  he  comes 
home!" 

"  I  have  thought  out  a  plan,"  Sharkan  said. 
"  Listen :  when  he  comes  home  pretend  you're  sick 
and  refuse  to  eat.  When  he  begs  you  to  eat  something, 
tell  him  that  nothing  can  tempt  you  but  a  suckling  from 
the  Earth  Sow.  He  will  at  once  go  out  and  hunt  the 
Earth  Sow  and  when  he  touches  one  of  her  sucklings, 
the  Sow  will  tear  him  to  pieces." 

Sharkan  remained  in  hiding  in  the  tenth  chamber 
and  presently  Vitazko  returned  from  the  hunt  with 
a  young  buck  across  his  shoulders.  He  found  his 
mother  on  the  bed,  moaning  and  groaning  as  if  in  great 
pain. 

"What  is  it,  dear  mother?"  he  asked.  "Are  you 
sick?" 

"Aye,  my  son,  I'm  sick.  Leave  me  and  I'll  die 
alone!" 

Vitazko  in  alarm  rubbed  her  hands  and  begged  her 
to  eat  of  the  venison  he  had  brought  home. 

"  Nay,  my  son,"  she  said,  "  venison  tempts  me  not. 


64?  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

Nothing  can  tempt  my  waning  appetite  but  a  suckling 
from  the  Earth  Sow." 

"  Then,  my  mother,  you  shall  have  a  suckling  from 
the  Earth  Sow! "  Vitazko  cried,  and  instantly  he 
rushed  out  in  quest  of  the  Earth  Sow  and  her 
litter. 

With  his  beech-tree  in  his  hand  he  ranged  back  and 
forth  through  the  forest  hunting  the  Earth  Sow.  He 
came  at  last  to  a  tower  in  which  an  old  wise  woman 
lived.  Her  name  was  Nedyelka  and  because  she  was 
good  as  well  as  wise  people  called  her  St.  Nedyelka. 

"Where  are  you  going,  Vitazko?"  she  said,  when 
she  saw  the  young  hero. 

"I'm  hunting  for  the  Earth  Sow,"  he  told  her. 
"  My  mother  is  sick  and  nothing  will  tempt  her  but 
a  suckling  from  the  Earth  Sow's  litter." 

Nedyelka  looked  at  the  young  man  kindly. 

"  That,  my  son,  is  a  difficult  task  you  have  set 
yourself.  However,  I  will  help  you  provided  you 
do  exactly  as  I  say." 

Vitazko  promised  and  the  old  woman  gave  him  a 
long  pointed  spit. 

"  Take  this,"  she  said.  "  Now  go  to  my  stable. 
There  you  will  find  my  horse,  Tatosh.  Mount  him 
and  he  will  carry  you  on  the  wind  to  where  the  Earth 


Nedyelka  tells  Viiazko  what  to  do 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  67 

Sow  lies  half  buried  in  her  wallow  and  surrounded  by 
her  litter.  Reach  over  and  prick  one  of  the  sucklings 
with  this  spit  and  then  sit  very  still  without  moving. 
The  suckling  will  squeal  and  instantly  the  Sow  will 
spring  up  and  in  a  fury  race  madly  around  the  world 
and  back  in  a  moment  of  time.  Sit  perfectly  still  and 
she  won't  see  either  you  or  Tatosh.  Then  she'll  tell 
the  litter  that  if  one  of  them  squeals  again  and  dis- 
turbs her,  she  will  tear  it  to  pieces.  With  that  she'll 
settle  back  in  the  wallow  and  go  to  sleep.  Then  do 
you  pick  up  the  same  little  suckling  on  your  spit  and 
carry  it  off.  This  time  it  will  be  afraid  to  squeal. 
The  Sow  will  not  be  disturbed  and  Tatosh,  my  horse, 
will  bear  you  safely  away." 

Vitazko  did  exactly  as  Nedyelka  ordered.  He 
mounted  Tatosh  and  the  magic  steed  carried  him 
swiftly  on  the  wind  to  where  the  Earth  Sow  lay  sleep- 
ing in  her  wallow. 

With  his  spit,  Vitazko  pricked  one  of  the  sucklings 
until  it  squealed  in  terror.  The  Earth  Sow  jumped 
up  and  in  fury  raced  madly  around  the  world  and  back 
in  a  moment  of  time.  Tatosh  stood  where  he  was  and 
Vitazko  sat  on  his  back  without  moving.  The  Earth  t 
Sow  saw  neither  of  them. 

"  If  one  of  you  squeals  again  and  disturbs  me,"  the 


68  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

Earth  Sow  said  to  the  litter,  "  I'll  wake  up  and  tear 
you  to  pieces !  " 

With  that  she  settled  back  in  the  mud  and  fell 
asleep. 

Vitazko  again  reached  over  and  now  he  picked  up 
the  same  little  suckling  on  the  end  of  his  spit.  This 
time  it  made  no  sound.  Instantly  Tatosh,  the  magic 
steed,  rose  on  the  wind  and  flew  straight  home  to 
Nedyelka. 

"How  did  things  go? "  the  old  woman  asked. 

"  Just  as  you  said  they  would,"  Vitazko  told  her. 
"  See,  here  is  the  suckling.'* 

"  Good,  my  son.     Take  it  home  to  your  mother." 

So  Vitazko  returned  the  spit  and  led  Tatosh  back 
to  his  stall.  Then  he  threw  the  suckling  over  his  beech- 
tree,  thanked  old  St.  Nedyelka,  bade  her  good-day, 
and  with  a  happy  heart  went  home. 

At  the  castle  the  mother  was  making  merry  with  the 
dragon.  Suddenly  in  the  distance  they  saw  Vitazko 
coming. 

"Here  he  comes!"  the  mother  cried.  "Oh  dear, 
what  shall  I  do?" 

"Don't  be  afraid,"  Sharkan  advised.  "We'll  send 
him  off  on  another  quest  and  this  time  he'll  surely  not 
come  back.  Pretend  you're  sick  again  and  tell  him 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  69 

you're  so  weak  that  even  the  suckling  of  the  Earth 
Sow  doesn't  tempt  your  appetite.  Tell  him  nothing 
will  help  you  but  the  Water  of  Life  and  the  Water 
of  Death  and  if  he  really  loves  you  he  must  get  you 
some  of  both.  Then  he'll  go  off  hunting  the  Water 
of  Life  and  the  Water  of  Death  and  that  will  be  the 
end  of  him." 

Sharkan  hid  himself  in  the  tenth  chamber  and 
Vitazko,  when  he  entered  the  castle,  found  his  mother 
alone. 

"  It's  no  use,  my  son,"  she  moaned.  "  I  can't  eat 
the  suckling.  Nothing  will  help  me  now  but  the 
Water  of  Life  and  the  Water  of  Death.  Of  course 
you  don't  love  me  well  enough  to  get  me  some  of 
both." 

"I  do!  I  do!"  poor  Vitazko  cried.  "There's 
nothing  I  won't  get  for  you  to  make  you  well! " 

He  snatched  up  his  beech-tree  again  and  hurried 
back  to  St.  Nedyelka. 

"  What  is  it  now?  "  the  old  woman  asked. 

"  Can  you  tell  me,  dear  St.  Nedyelka,  where  I  can 
find  the  Water  of  Life  and  the  Water  of  Death?  My 
poor  mother  is  still  sick  and  she  says  that  nothing  else1 
will  cure  her." 

"  The  Waters  of  Life  and  of  Death  are  difficult  to 


70  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

get,"  Nedyelka  said.  "  However,  dear  boy,  I  will 
help  you.  Take  these  two  pitchers  and  again  mount 
the  faithful  Tatosh.  He  will  carry  you  to  the  two 
shores  under  which  flow  the  springs  of  the  Water  of 
Life  and  the  Water  of  Death.  The  right  shore  opens 
for  a  moment  on  the  instant  of  noon  and  under  it  the 
Water  of  Life  bubbles  up.  The  left  shore  opens  for 
a  moment  at  midnight  and  under  it  lies  the  still  pool  of 
the  Water  of  Death.  Wait  at  each  shore  until  the 
moment  it  opens.  Then  reach  in  and  scoop  up  a 
pitcher  of  water.  Be  swift  or  the  shores  will  close 
upon  you  and  kill  you." 

Vitazko  took  the  two  pitchers  and  mounted  Tatosh. 
The  horse  rose  on  the  wind  and  carried  Vitazko  far, 
far  away  beyond  the  Red  Sea  to  the  two  shores  of 
which  old  Nedyelka  had  told  him. 

At  the  moment  of  noon  the  right  shore  opened  for  an 
instant  and  Vitazko  scooped  up  a  pitcher  of  the  Water 
of  Life.  He  had  scarcely  time  to  draw  back  before 
the  opening  closed  with  a  crash. 

He  waited  at  the  left  shore  until  midnight.  At  the 
moment  of  midnight  the  left  shore  opened  for  an 
instant.  Vitazko  scooped  up  a  pitcher  of  water  from 
the  still  pool  of  the  Water  of  Death  and  pulled  swiftly 
back  as  the  opening  closed. 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  71 

With  the  two  pitchers  safe  in  his  hands,  Vitazko 
mounted  Tatosh  and  the  magic  steed  rising  on  the 
wind  carried  him  home  to  St.  Nedyelka. 

"And  how  did  things  go?"  the  old  woman  asked. 

"Very  well,"  Vitazko  said.  "See,  here  are  the 
Waters." 

St.  Nedyelka  took  the  two  pitchers  and  when 
Vitazko  wasn't  looking  changed  them  for  two  pitchers 
of  ordinary  water  which  she  told  him  to  carry  at  once 
jfo  his  mother. 

At  the  castle  the  mother  and  Sharkan  were  again 
making  merry  when  from  afar  they  saw  Vitazko  with 
two  pitchers  in  his  hands.  The  mother  fell  into  a 
great  fright  and  wept  and  tore  her  hair,  but  the 
dragon  again  reassured  her. 

"  He's  come  back  this  time,"  he  said,  "  but  we'll 
send  him  off  again  and  he'll  never  return.  Refuse 
the  Waters  and  tell  him  you're  so  sick  that  nothing 
will  help  you  now  but  a  sight  of  the  bird,  Pelikan. 
Tell  him  if  he  loves  you  he  will  go  after  the  bird, 
Pelikan,  and  once  he  goes  we  need  never  fear  him 
again." 

Vitazko  when  he  reached  the  castle  hurried  into 
his  mother's  chamber  and  offered  her  the  Waters. 

"  Here,  dear  mother,  is  a  pitcher  of  the  Water  oi; 


72  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

Life  and  a  pitcher  of  the  Water  of  Death.  Now  you 
will  get  well!" 

But  his  mother  pushed  both  pitchers  away  and, 
moaning  and  groaning  as  if  she  were  in  great  pain, 
she  said: 

"Nay,  you  are  too  late  with  your  Water  of  Life 
and  your  Water  of  Death!  I  am  so  far  gone  that 
nothing  will  cure  me  now  but  a  sight  of  the  bird, 
Pelikan.  If  you  really  loved  me  you  would  get  it 
for  me." 

Vitazko,  still  trusting  his  mother,  cried  out: 

"  Of  course  I  love  you!  Of  course  I'll  get  you  the 
bird,  Pelikan,  if  that  is  what  will  cure  you! " 

So  once  more  he  snatched  up  his  beech-tree  and  hur- 
ried off  to  St.  Nedyelka. 

"  What  is  it  now? "  the  old  woman  asked  him. 

"  It's  my  poor  mother,"  Vitazko  said.  "  She's  too  far 
gone  for  the  Water  of  Life  and  the  Water  of  Death. 
Nothing  will  help  her  now  but  a  sight  of  the  bird, 
Pelikan.  Tell  me,  kind  Nedyelka,  how  can  I  get  the 
bird,  Pelikan?  " 

"  The  bird,  Pelikan,  my  son?  Ah,  that  is  a  task  to 
capture  Pelikan!  However,  I  will  help  you.  Pelikan 
is  a  giant  bird  with  a  long,  long  neck.  When  he  shakes 
his  wings  he  raises  such  a  wind  that  he  blows  down 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  73 

the  forest  trees.  Here  is  a  gun.  Take  it  and  mount 
my  faithful  Tatosh.  He  will  carry  you  far  away  to 
the  vast  wilderness  where  Pelikan  lives.  When  you 
get  there,  note  carefully  from  what  direction  the  wind 
blows.  Shoot  in  that  direction.  Then  quickly  push 
the  ramrod  into  the  barrel  of  the  gun  and  leave  it  there 
and  come  back  to  me  as  fast  as  you  can." 

Vitazko  took  the  gun  and  mounted  Tatosh.  The 
magic  steed  rose  on  the  wind  and  carried  him  far  off 
to  the  distant  wilderness  which  was  the  home  of  the 
bird,  Pelikan.  There  Tatosh  sank  to  earth  and 
Vitazko  dismounted.  Immediately  he  felt  a  strong 
wind  against  his  right  cheek.  He  took  aim  in  that 
direction  and  pulled  the  trigger.  The  hammer  fell  and 
instantly  Vitazko  pushed  the  ramrod  into  the  gun 
barrel.  He  threw  the  gun  over  his  shoulder  and 
mounted  Tatosh.  Tatosh  rose  on  the  wind  and  in  a 
twinkling  had  carried  him  back  to  St.  Nedyelka. 

"Well,  son,  how  did  things  go?"  the  old  woman 
asked  as  usual. 

"  I  don't  know,"  Vitazko  said.  "  I  did  as  you  told 
me.  Here  is  the  gun." 

"  Let  me  see,"  Nedyelka  said,  squinting  into  the  gun 
barrel.  "  Ah,  son,  things  went  very  well  indeed  I  Here 
is  Pelikan  inside  the  barrel." 


74  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

She  drew  something  out  of  the  gun  barrel  and  sure 
enough  it  was  the  bird,  Pelikan. 

She  gave  Vitazko  another  gun  and  told  him  to  go 
out  and  shoot  an  eagle.  Then  she  told  him  to  cany 
Pelikan  home  to  his  mother,  but  instead  of  giving  him 
Pelikan  she  gave  him  the  eagle. 

When  Sharkan  and  his  mother  saw  Vitazko  coming, 
they  decided  that  this  time  they  would  send  him  after 
the  Golden  Apples.  These  grew  in  the  garden  of  the 
most  powerful  dragon  in  the  world. 

"  If  Vitazko  goes  near  him,"  Sharkan  said,  "  the 
dragon  will  tear  him  to  pieces  for  he  knows  that  it 
was  Vitazko  who  killed  all  his  brother  dragons." 

So  the  mother  again  feigned  sickness  and,  when 
Vitazko  rushed  in  to  her  and  offered  her  what  he  sup- 
posed was  Pelikan,  she  moaned  and  groaned  and 
pushed  the  bird  aside. 

"  Too  late!    Too  late!    I'm  dying!  " 

"Don't  say  that!"  poor  Vitazko  begged.  "Will 
nothing  save  you? " 

"  Yes,  the  Golden  Apples  that  grow  in  the  garden 
of  Mightiest  Dragon  could  still  save  me.  If  you  really 
loved  me  you'd  get  them  for  me." 

"  I  do  love  you,  mother,"  Vitazko  cried,  "  and  I'll 
get  you  the  Golden  Apples  wherever  they  are! " 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  75 

So  without  a  moment's  rest  he  hurried  back  to 
St.  Nedyelka. 

"  Well,  son,  what  is  it  now? "  the  old  woman  asked. 

Vitazko  wept. 

"  It's  my  poor  mother.  She's  still  sick.  Pelikan 
hasn't  cured  her.  She  says  now  that  only  the  Golden 
Apples  from  the  garden  of  Mightiest  Dragon  can  cure 
her.  Dear,  kind  Nedyelka,  tell  me,  what  shall  I  do? " 

"  The  Golden  Apples  from  the  garden  of  Mightiest 
Dragon!  Ah,  my  son,  that  will  be  a  task  for  you! 
For  this  you  will  need  every  ounce  of  your  strength 
and  more!  But  never  fear!  I  will  again  befriend 
you.  Here  is  a  ring.  Put  it  on  a  finger  of  your 
right  hand  and  when  you  are  sore  pressed  twist  the 
ring  around  your  finger  and  think  of  me.  Instantly 
you  will  have  the  strength  of  a  hundred  fighting  men. 
Now  take  this  sword,  mount  the  faithful  Tatosh,  and 
good  luck  go  with  you.'* 

Vitazko  thanked  the  dear '  old  woman,  mounted 
Tatosh,  and  was  soon  carried  far  away  to  the  garden 
of  the  dragon.  A  high  wall  surrounded  the  garden, 
so  high  that  Vitazko  could  never  have  scaled  it  alone. 
But  it  is  as  easy  for  a  horse  like  Tatosh  to  take  a  high 
wall  as  it  is  for  a  bird. 

Inside  the  garden  Vitazko  dismounted  and  began  to 


76  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

look  for  the  tree  that  bore  the  Golden  Apples.  Pres- 
ently he  met  a  beautiful  young  girl  who  asked  him 
what  he  was  doing  in  the  dragon's  garden. 

"  I'm  looking  for  the  Golden  Apples,"  he  told  her. 
"  I  want  some  of  them  for  my  sick  mother.  Do  you 
know  where  they  are?  " 

"  I  do  indeed  know  where  they  are,"  the  girl  said, 
"  for  it  is  my  duty  to  guard  them.  If  I  were  to  give 
you  one  the  wicked  dragon  would  tear  me  to  pieces. 
I  am  a  royal  princess  but  I  am  in  the  dragon's  power 
and  must  do  as  he  says.  Dear  youth,  take  my  advice 
and  escape  while  you  can.  If  the  dragon  sees  you  he 
will  kill  you  as  he  would  a  fly." 

But  Vitazko  was  not  to  be  dissuaded  from  his  quest. 

"  Nay,  sweet  princess,  I  must  get  the  apples." 

"  Well,  then,"  she  said,  "  I  will  help  you  all  I  can. 
Here  is  a  precious  ring.  Put  it  on  a  finger  of  your 
left  hand.  When  you  are  sore  pressed,  think  of  me 
and  twist  the  ring  and  you  will  have  the  strength  of 
a  hundred  men.  To  conquer  this  horrible  monster  you 
will  need  the  strength  of  more  than  a  hundred." 

Vitazko  put  on  the  ring,  thanked  the  princess,  and 
marched  boldly  on.  In  the  center  of  the  garden  he 
found  the  tree  that  bore  the  Golden  Apples.  Under  it 
lay  the  dragon  himself. 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  77 

On  sight  of  Vitazko  he  raised  his  head  and  bellowed 
out: 

"  Ho,  you  murderer  of  dragons,  what  do  you  want 
here?" 

Nothing  daunted,  Vitazko  replied: 

"I  am  come  to  shake  down  some  of  the  Golden 
Apples." 

"Indeed!"  the  dragon  roared.  "Then  you  will 
have  to  shake  them  down  over  my  dead  body !  " 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  do  that!  "  Vitazko  said,  springing 
at  the  dragon  and  at  the  same  time  twisting  around 
the  ring  on  his  right  hand  and  thinking  of  kind  old 
St.  Nedyelka. 

The  dragon  grappled  with  him  and  for  a 
moment  almost  took  him  off  his  feet.  Then  Vitazko 
plunged  the  dragon  into  the  earth  up  to  his 
ankles. 

Just  then  there  was  the  rustling  of  wings  overhead 
and  a  black  raven  cawed  out: 

"Which  of  you  wants  my  help,  you,  oh  Mightiest 
Dragon,  or  you,  Vitazko,  the  Victorious? " 

"Help  me!"  the  dragon  roared. 

"  Then  what  will  you  give  me? " 

"  As  much  gold  as  you  want." 

"  Nay,  raven,"  Vitazko  shouted,  "  help  me  and  I 


18  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

will  give  you  all  the  dragon's  horses  that  are  grazing 
over  yonder  in  the  meadow."  , 

"Very  well,  Vitazko,"  the  raven  croaked.  "I'll 
help  you.  What  shall  I  do? " 

"  Cool  me  when  I'm  hot,"  Vitazko  said,  "  when  the 
dragon  breathes  on  me  his  fiery  breath." 

They  grappled  again  and  the  dragon  plunged 
Vitazko  into  the  ground  up  to  his  ankles.  Twisting 
the  ring  on  his  right  hand  and  thinking  of  St.  Ned- 
yelka,  Vitazko  gripped  the  dragon  around  the 
waist  and  plunged  him  into  the  earth  up  to  his 
knees. 

Then  they  paused  for  breath  and  the  raven  which 
had  dipped  its  wings  in  a  fountain  sat  on  Vitazko's 
head  and  shook  down  drops  of  cool  water  on  his  heated 
face. 

Then  Vitazko  twisted  the  ring  on  his  left  hand, 
thought  of  the  beautiful  princess,  and  closed  with  the 
dragon  again.  This  time  with  a  mighty  effort  he 
gripped  the  dragon  as  if  he  were  a  stake  of  wood  and 
drove  him  into  the  ground  up  to  his  very  shoulders. 
Then  quickly  drawing  Nedyelka's  sword,  he  cut  off  the 
dragon's  head. 

At  once  the  lovely  princess  came  running  and  her- 
self plucked  two  of  the  Golden  Apples  and  gave 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  79 

them  to  Vitazko.  She  thanked  him  prettily  for  res- 
cuing her  and  she  said  to  him: 

"  You  have  saved  me,  Vitazko,  from  this  fierce 
monster  and  now  I  am  yours  if  you  want  me." 

"  I  do  want  you,  dear  princess,"  Vitazko  said,  "  and, 
if  I  could,  I'd  go  with  you  at  once  to  your  father  to 
ask  you  in  marriage.  But  I  cannot.  I  must  hurry 
home  to  my  sick  mother.  If  you  love  me,  wait  for  me 
a  year  and.  a  day  and  I'll  surely  return." 

The  princess  made  him  this  promise  and  they 
parted. 

Remembering  the  raven,  Vitazko  rode  over  to  the 
meadow  and  slaughtered  the  dragon's  horses.  Then 
rising  on  Tatosh  he  flew  home  on  the  wind  to  St. 
Nedyelka. 

"Well,  son,  how  did  things  go?"  the  old  woman 
asked. 

"Gloriously!"  Vitazko  answered,  showing  her  the 
Golden  Apples.  "  But  if  the  princess  hadn't  given  me 
a  second  ring  I  might  have  been  vanquished." 

"  Take  home  the  Golden  Apples  to  your  mother," 
Nedyelka  said,  "  and  this  time  ride  Tatosh  to  the 
castle." 

So  Vitazko  mounted  Tatosh  again  and  flew  to  the 
castle. 


80  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

Sharkan  and  his  mother  were  making  merry  to- 
gether when  they  saw  him  coming. 

"  Here  he  comes  again!  "  the  mother  cried.  "  What 
shall  I  do?  What  shaU  I  do? " 

But  Sharkan  could  think  of  nothing  further  to 
suggest.  So  without  a  word  he  hurried  to  the  tenth 
chamber  where  he  hid  himself  and  the  woman  had 
to  meet  Vitazko  as  best  she  could. 

She  laid  herself  on  the  bed  feigning  still  to  be  sick 
and  when  Vitazko  appeared  she  greeted  him  most 
affectionately. 

"  My  dear  son,  back  again?  And  safe  and  sound? 
Thank  God!" 

Then  when  he  gave  her  the  Golden  Apples  she 
jumped  up  from  the  bed,  pretending  that  the  mere 
sight  of  them  had  cured  her. 

"Ah,  my  dear  son!"  she  cried,  petting  him  and 
caressing  him  as  she  used  to  when  he  was  a  child.. 
"What  a  hero  you  are!" 

She  prepared  food  and  feasted  him  royally  and 
Vitazko  ate  and  was  very  happy  that  his  mother  was 
herself  again. 

When  he  could  eat  no  more  she  took  a  strong 
woolen  cord  and,  as  if  in  play,  she  said  to  him : 

"  Lie  down,  my  son,  and  let  me  bind  you  with  this 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  81 

cord  as  once  I  bound  your  father.  Let  me  see  if  you 
are  as  strong  as  he  was  and  able  to  break  the  cord." 

Vitazko  smiled  and  lay  down  and  allowed  his  mother 
to  bind  him  with  the  woolen  cord.  Then  he  stretched 
his  muscles  and  burst  the  cord  asunder. 

"  Ah,  you  are  strong!  "  his  mother  said.  "  But  come, 
let  me  try  again  with  a  thin  silken  cord." 

Suspecting  nothing,  Vitazko  allowed  his  mother  to 
bind  him  hand  and  foot  with  a  thin  silken  cord.  Then 
when  he  stretched  his  muscles,  the  cord  cut  into  his 
flesh.  So  he  lay  there,  helpless  as  an  infant. 

"  Sharkan!    Sharkan!  "  the  mother  called. 

The  dragon  rushed  in  with  a  sword,  cut  off  Vitazko's 
head,  and  hacked  his  body  into  small  pieces.  He 
picked  out  Vitazko's  heart  and  hung  it  by  a  string 
from  a  beam  in  the  ceiling. 

Then  the  woman  gathered  together  the  pieces  of 
her  son's  body,  tied  them  in  a  bundle,  and  fastened 
the  bundle  on  Tatosh  who  was  still  waiting  below  in 
the  courtyard. 

"  You  carried  him  when  he  was  alive,"  she  said. 
"  Take  him  now  that  he's  dead — I  don't  care  where." 

Tatosh  rose  on  the  wind  and  flew  home  to  St. 
Nedyelka. 

The  old  wise  woman  who  knew  already  what  had 


82  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

happened  was  waiting  for  him.  She  took  the  pieces 
of  the  body  from  the  bundle  and  washed  them  in  the 
Water  of  Death.  Then  she  arranged  them  piece  by 
piece  as  they  should  be  and  they  grew  together  until 
the  wounds  disappeared  and  there  were  not  even  any 
scars  left.  After  that  she  sprinkled  the  body  with  the 
Water  of  Life  and,  lo,  life  returned  to  Vitazko  and 
he  stood  up,  well  and  healthy. 

"  Ah,"  he  said,  rubbing  his  eyes,  "  I've  been  asleep, 
haven't  I?" 

"  Yes,"  Nedyelka  said,  "  and  but  for  me  you 
would  never  have  wakened.  How  do  you  feel,  my 
son? " 

"All  right,"  Vitazko  said,  "except  a  little  strange 
as  if  I  had  no  heart." 

"  You  have  none,"  Nedyelka  told  him.  "  Your  heart 
hangs  by  a  string  from  a  crossbeam  in  the  castle." 

She  told  him  what  had  befallen  him,  how  his  mother 
had  betrayed  him  and  how  Sharkan  had  cut  him  to 
pieces. 

Vitazko  listened  but  he  could  feel  neither  surprise 
nor  grief  nor  anger  nor  anything,  for  how  could  he 
feel  since  he  had  no  heart? 

"  You  need  your  heart,  my  son,"  Nedyelka  said. 
"  You  must  go  after  it." 


Vitazko  disguised  as  an  old  village  piper 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  85 

She  disguised  him  as  an  old  village  piper  and  give 
him  a  pair  of  bagpipes. 

"  Go  to  the  castle,"  she  told  him,  "and  play 
on  these  pipes.  When  they  offer  to  reward  you, 
ask  for  the  heart  that  hangs  by  a  string  from  the 
ceiling." 

So  Vitazko  took  the  bagpipes  and  went  to  the  castle. 
He  played  under  the  castle  windows  and  his  mother 
looked  out  and  beckoned  him  in. 

He  went  inside  and  played  and  Sharkan  and  his 
mother  danced  to  his  music.  They  danced  and  danced 
until  they  could  dance  no  longer. 

Then  they  gave  the  old  piper  food  and  drink  and 
offered  him  golden  money. 

But  Vitazko  said: 

"  Nay,  what  use  has  an  old  man  for  gold? " 

"  What  then  can  I  give  you? "  the  woman  asked. 

Vitazko  looked  slowly  about  the  chamber  as  an  old 
man  would. 

"  Give  me  that  heart,"  he  said,  "  that  hangs  from  the 
ceiling.  That's  all  I  want." 

So  they  gave  him  the  heart  and  Vitazko  thanked 
them  and  departed. 

He  carried  the  heart  to  Nedyelka  who  washed  it 
at  once  in  the  Water  of  Death  and  the  Water  of 


86  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

Life.  Then  she  placed  it  in  the  bill  of  the  bird, 
Pelikan,  and  Pelikan,  reaching  its  long  thin  neck  down 
Vitazko's  throat,  put  the  heart  in  its  proper  place. 
The  heart  began  to  beat  and  instantly  Vitazko 
could  again  feel  joy  and  pain  and  grief  and  happi- 
ness. 

"Now  can  you  feel?"  Nedyelka  asked. 

"  Yes,"  Vitazko  said.  "  Now,  thank  God,  I  can  feel 
again!" 

"  Pelikan,"  Nedyelka  said,  "  for  this  service  you 
shall  be  freed.  ...  As  for  you,  my  son,  you  must  go 
back  to  the  castle  once  more  and  inflict  a  just  punish- 
ment. I  shall  change  you  into  a  pigeon.  Fly  to  the 
castle  and  there,  when  you  wish  to  be  yourself  again, 
think  of  me." 

So  Vitazko  took  the  form  of  a  pigeon  and  flying 
to  the  castle  alighted  on  the  window-sill. 

Inside  the  castle  chamber  he  saw  his  mother  fondling 
Sharkan. 

"  See!  "  she  cried.  "  A  pigeon  is  on  the  window-sill. 
Quick!  Get  your  crossbow  and  shoot  it!  " 

But  before  the  dragon  could  move,  Vitazko  stood  in 
the  chamber. 

He  seized  a  sword  and  with  one  mighty  blow  cut 
off  the  dragon's  head. 


VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS  87 

"And  you — you  wicked,  faithless  mother!  "  he  cried. 
"  What  am  I  to  do  to  you?  " 

His  mother  fell  on  her  knees  and  begged  for  mercy. 

"  Never  fear,"  Vitazko  said.  "  I  won't  harm  you. 
Let  God  judge  between  us." 

He  took  his  mother  by  the  hand  and  led  her  down 
into  the  courtyard.  Then  he  lifted  the  sword  and 
said: 

"  Now,  mother,  I  shall  throw  this  sword  in  the  air 
and  may  God  judge  between  us  which  of  us  has  been 
faithless  to  the  other." 

The  sword  flashed  in  the  air  and  fell,  striking 
straight  to  the  heart  of  the  guilty  mother  and  killing 
her. 

Vitazko  buried  her  in  the  courtyard  and  then  re- 
turned to  St.  Nedyelka.  He  thanked  the  old  woman 
for  all  she  had  done  for  him  and  then,  picking  up 
his  beech-tree  club,  he  started  out  to  find  his  beautiful 
princess. 

She  had  long  since  returned  to  her  father  and  many 
princes  and  heroes  had  come  seeking  her  in  marriage. 
She  had  put  them  all  off,  saying  she  would  wed  no 
one  for  a  year  and  a  day. 

Then  before  the  year  was  up  Vitazko  appeared  and 
she  led  him  at  once  to  her  father  and  said: 


88  VITAZKO  THE  VICTORIOUS 

"This  man  will  I  marry,  this  and  none  other,  for 
he  it  was  that  rescued  me  from  the  dragon." 

A  great  wedding  feast  was  spread  and  all  the 
country  rejoiced  that  their  lovely  princess  was  getting 
for  a  husband  Vitazko.  the  Victorious. 


FIVE  NURSERY  TALES 

I.   KURATKO  THE  TERRIBLE 
II.   SMOLICHECK 

III.  BUDULINEK 

IV.  THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN 

V.  THE  DISOBEDIENT  ROOSTER 


KURATKO  THE  TERRIBLE 

THE  STORY  OF  AN  UNGRATEFUL  CHICK 


KURATKO  THE  TERRIBLE 

fT^HERE  was  once  an  old  couple  who  had  no 
JL  children. 

"  If  only  we  had  a  chick  or  a  child  of  our  own ! " 
Grandmother  used  to  say.  "  Think  how  we  could  pet 
it  and  take  care  of  it! " 

But  Grandfather  always  answered: 

"  Not  at  all!    We  are  very  well  off  as  we  are." 

At  last  the  old  hlack  hen  in  the  barnyard  hatched 
out  a  chick.  Grandmother  was  delighted. 

"  See,  Grandpa,"  she  said,  "  now  we  have  a  chick 
of  our  own! " 

But  Grandfather  shook  his  head  doubtfully. 

"I  don't  like  the  looks  of  that  chick.  There's 
something  strange  about  it." 

But  Grandmother  wouldn't  listen.  To  her  the  chick 
seemed  everything  it  should  be.  She  called  it  Kuratko 
and  petted  it  and  pampered  it  as  though  it  were  an 
only  child. 

Kuratko  grew  apace  and  soon  he  developed  an  awful 
appetite. 

"Cockadoodledoo!"  he  shouted  at  all  hours  of  the 

93 


94  KURATKO  THE  TERRIBLE 

day.    "  I'm  hungry!    Give  me  something  to  eat!" 

"You  mustn't  feed  that  chick  so  much!"  Grand- 
father grumbled.  "  He's  eating  us  out  of  house  and 
home." 

But  Grandmother  wouldn't  listen.  She  fed  Kuratko 
and  fed  him  until  sure  enough  there  came  a  day  when 
there  was  nothing  left  for  herself  and  the  old 
man. 

That  was  a  nice  how-do-you-do!  Grandmother  sat 
working  at  her  spinning-wheel  trying  to  forget  that 
she  was  hungry,  and  Grandfather  sat  on  his  stool 
nearby  too  cross  to  speak  to  her. 

And  then,  quite  as  though  nothing  were  the  matter, 
Kuratko  strutted  into  the  room,  flapped  his  wings,  and 
crowed: 

"  Cockadoodledo  I  I'm  hungry !  Give  me  some- 
thing to  eat! " 

"  Not  another  blessed  thing  will  I  ever  feed  you, 
you  greedy  chick !  "  Grandfather  shouted. 

"Cockadoodledo!"  Kuratko  answered.  "Then  I'll 
just  eat  you!" 

With  that  he  made  one  peck  at  Grandfather  and 
swallowed  him  down,  stool  and  all! 

"Oh,  Kuratko!"  Grandmother  cried.  "Where's 
Grandpa? " 


KURATKO  THE  TERRIBLE  95 

"Cockadoodledo!"  Kuratko  remarked.  "I'm  still 
hungry.  I  think  I'll  eat  you! " 

And  with  that  he  made  one  peck  at  Grandmother 
and  swallowed  her  down,  spinning-wheel  and  all! 

Then  that  terrible  chick  went  strutting  down  the 
road,  crowing  merrily! 

He  met  a  washerwoman  at  work  over  her  wash-tub. 

"Good  gracious,  Kuratko!"  the  woman  cried. 
"  What  a  great  big  crop  you've  got! " 

"  Cockadoodledo!  "  Kuratko  said.  "  I  should  think 
my  crop  was  big  for  haven't  I  just  eaten  Grandmother, 
spinning-wheel  and  all,  and  Grandfather,  stool  and  all? 
But  I'm  still  hungry,  so  now  I'm  going  to  eat  you!  " 

Before  the  poor  woman  knew  what  was  happening, 
Kuratko  made  one  peck  at  her  and  swallowed  her 
down,  wash-tub  and  all! 

Then  he  strutted  on  down  the  road,  crowing  merrily. 

Presently  he  came  to  a  company  of  soldiers. 

"  Good  gracious,  Kuratko ! "  the  soldiers  cried. 
"  What  a  great  big  crop  you've  got!  " 

"Cockadoodledo!"  Kuratko  replied.  "I  should 
think  my  crop  was  big,  for  haven't  I  just  eaten  a 
washerwoman,  tub  and  all,  Grandmother,  spinning- 
wheel  and  all,  and  Grandfather,  stool  and  all?  But 
I'm  still  hungry,  so  now  I'm  going  to  eat  you!  " 


96  KURATKO  THE  TERRIBLE 

Before  the  soldiers  knew  what  was  happening, 
Kuratko  pecked  at  them  and  swallowed  them  down, 
bayonets  and  all,  one  after  another,  like  so  many  grains 
of  wheat! 

Then  that  terrible  chick  went  on  strutting  down 
the  road,  crowing  merrily. 

Soon  he  met  Kotsor,  the  cat.  Kotsor,  the  cat, 
blinked  his  eyes  and  worked  his  whiskers  in 
surprise. 

"  Good  gracious,  Kuratko,  what  a  great  big  crop 
you've  got! " 

"  Cockadoodledo!  "  Kuratko  said.  "  I  should  think 
my  crop  was  big,  for  haven't  I  just  eaten  a  company 
of  soldiers,  bayonets  and  all;  a  washerwoman,  tub  and 
all;  Grandmother,  spinning-wheel  and  all;  and  Grand- 
father, stool  and  all?  But  I'm  still  hungry,  so  now 
I'm  going  to  eat  you !  " 

Before  Kotsor,  the  cat,  knew  what  was  happening, 
Kuratko  made  one  peck  at  him  and  swallowed  him 
down. 

But  Kotsor,  the  cat,  was  not  a  person  to  submit 
tamely  to  such  an  indignity.  The  moment  he  found 
himself  inside  Kuratko  he  unsheathed  his  claws  and 
began  to  scratch  and  to  tear.  He  worked  until  he  had 
torn  a  great  hole  in  Kuratko's  crop.  At  that  Kuratko, 


KURATKO  THE  TERRIBLE  97 

the  Terrible  Chick,  when  he  tried  again  to  crow, 
toppled  over  dead! 

Then  Kotsor,  the  cat,  jumped  out  of  Kuratko's 
crop;  after  him  the  company  of  soldiers  marched  out; 
and  after  them  the  washerwoman  with  her  tub,  Grand- 
mother with  her  spinning-wheel,  and  Grandfather  with 
his  stool.  And  they  all  went  about  their  business. 

Kotsor,  the  cat,  followed  Grandmother  and  Grand- 
father home  and  begged  them  to  give  him  Kuratko  for 
his  dinner. 

"You  may  have  him  for  all  of  me,"  Grandfather 
said.  "  But  ask  Grandmother.  He  was  her  little  pet, 
not  mine." 

"  Indeed  you  may  have  him,"  Grandmother  said. 
"I  see  now  Grandfather  was  right.  Kuratko  was 
certainly  an  ungrateful  chick  and  I  never  want  to  hear 
his  name  again." 

So  Kotsor,  the  cat,  had  a  wonderful  dinner  and  to 
this  day  when  he  remembers  it  he  licks  his  chops  and 
combs  his  whiskers. 


SMOLICHECK 

THE  STORY  OF  A  LITTLE  BOY 
WHO  OPENED  THE  DOOR 


SMOLICHECK 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  little  boy  named 
Smolicheck.  He  lived  in  a  little  house  in  the 
woods  with  a  deer  whose  name  was  Golden  Antlers. 

Every  day  when  Golden  Antlers  went  out  he  told 
Smolicheck  to  lock  the  door  after  him  and  on  no  ac- 
count to  open  it  no  matter  who  knocked. 

"  If  you  disobey  me,"  Golden  Antlers  said,  "  some- 
thing awful  may  happen." 

"  I  won't  open  the  door,"  Smolicheck  always  prom- 
ised. "  I  won't  open  it  until  you  come  home." 

Now  one  day  there  was  a  knock  on  the  door. 

"Oh!"  Smolicheck  thought  to  himself,  "I  wonder 
who  that  is! "  and  he  called  out: 

"Who's  there?" 

From  the  outside  sweet  voices  answered: 


"  Smolicheck,  Smolicheck,  please  open  the  door 
Just  a  wee  little  crack  of  two  fingers — no  more! 
We'll  reach  m  our  cold  little  hands  to  get  warm, 
Then  leave  without  doing  you  the  least  bit  of  harm! 
So  open,  Smolicheck,  please  open  the  door!  " 
101 


102  SMOLICHECK 

But  Smolicheck  didn't  think  he  ought  to  open  the 
door  because  he  remembered  what  Golden  Antlers  had 
told  him.  Golden  Antlers  was  very  kind  but  he 
spanked  Smolicheck  when  Smolicheck  was  disobedient. 
And  Smolicheck  didn't  want  to  get  a  spanking.  So 
he  put  his  hands  over  his  ears  to  shut  out  the  sound  of 
the  sweet  voices  and  that  time  he  didn't  open  the  door. 

"You're  a  good  boy,"  Golden  Antlers  said  in  the 
evening  when  he  came  home.  "  Those  must  have  been 
the  wicked  little  wood  maidens.  If  you  had  opened 
the  door  they  would  have  carried  you  off  to  their  cave 
and  then  what  would  you  have  done ! " 

So  Smolicheck  was  very  happy  to  think  he  had 
obeyed  Golden  Antlers  and  he  said  he  would  never 
open  the  door  to  strangers,  no,  never! 

The  next  day  after  Golden  Antlers  had  gone  out 
and  Smolicheck  was  left  alone,  again  there  came  a 
knocking  on  the  door,  and  when  Smolicheck  called 
out:  "Who's  there?"  voices  sweeter  than  before  an- 
swered : 


Smolicheck,  Smolicheck,  please  open  the  door 
Just  a  wee  little  crack  of  two  fingers — no  more! 
We'll  reach  m  our  cold  little  hands  to  get  warm, 
Then  leave  without  doing  you  the  least  bit  of  harm! 
So  open,  SmoUcheck,  please  open  the  door!  " 


SMOLICHECK  103 

Smolicheck  said,  no,  he  couldn't  open  the  door.  He 
thought  to  himself  that  he  would  like  to  have  one  peep 
at  the  wood  maidens  just  to  see  what  they  looked 
like.  But  he  mustn't  open  the  door  even  a  crack,  no, 
he  mustn't! 

The  little  wood  maidens  kept  on  begging  him  and 
shivering  and  shaking  and  telling  him  how  cold  they 
were,  until  Smolicheck  felt  very  sorry  for  them. 

"  I  don't  think  it  would  matter,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"  if  I  opened  the  door  just  a  weeny  teeny  bit." 

So  he  opened  the  door  just  a  tiny  crack.  Instantly 
two  little  white  fingers  popped  in,  and  then  two  more 
and  two  more  and  two  more,  and  then  little  white 
hands,  and  then  little  white  arms,  and  then,  before 
Smolicheck  knew  what  as  happening,  a  whole  bevy  of 
little  wood  maidens  were  in  the  room!  They  danced 
around  Smolicheck  and  they  howled  and  they  yelled 
and  they  took  hold  of  him  and  dragged  him  out  of  the 
house  and  away  towards  the  woods! 

Smolicheck  was  dreadfully  frightened  and  he 
screamed  out  with  all  his  might : 


1  Oh,  dear  Golden  Antlers,  wherever  you  are 
In  valley  or  mountain  or  pasture  afar, 
Come  quick!     Don't  delay! 
The  wicked  wood  maidens  are  dragging  away 


104  SMOLICHECK 

Your  little  SmolichecJc! 
Come  quick!    Don't  delay!  " 

This  time  by  good  luck  the  deer  was  not  far  away. 
When  he  heard  Smolicheck's  cry,  he  bounded  up, 
drove  the  little  wood  maidens  off,  and  carried  Smoli- 
check  home  on  his  antlers. 

When  they  got  home  he  put  Smolicheck  across  his 
knee  and  gave  him  something — you  know  what! — to 
make  him  remember  not  to  disobey  next  time.  Smoli- 
check cried  and  he  said  he  never,  never,  never  would 
open  the  door  again  no  matter  how  sweetly  the  wood 
maidens  begged. 

For  some  days  no  one  came  to  the  door.  Then 
again  one  afternoon  there  was  a  knocking  and  sweet 
voices  called  out: 

"  Smolicheck,  Smolicheck,  please  open  the  door 
Just  a  wee  little  crack  of  two  fingers — no  more! 
We'll  reach  in  our  cold  little  hands  to  get  warm, 
Then  leave  without  domg  you  the  least  bit  of  harm! 
So  open,  Smolicheck,  please  open  the  door!  " 

But  Smolicheck  pretended  he  didn't  hear.  Then 
when  the  little  wood  maidens  began  to  shake  and  to 
shiver  and  to  cry  with  the  cold  and  to  beg  him  to 
open  the  door  just  a  little  crack  so  that  they  could 
warm  their  hands,  he  said  to  them: 


SMOLICHECK  105 

"No,  I  won't  open  the  door,  not  even  a  teeny 
weeny  crack,  because  if  I  do  you'll  push  in  as  you  did 
before  and  catch  me  and  drag  me  off! " 

The  wicked  little  wood  maidens  said: 

"  Oh  no,  Smolicheck,  we  wouldn't  do  that!  We'd 
never  think  of  such  a  thing!  And  besides,  if  we  did 
take  you  with  us,  you'd  have  a  much  better  time  with 
us  than  you  have  here,  shut  up  in  a  little  house  all 
alone,  while  Golden  Antlers  is  off  having  a  good  time 
by  himself.  We'd  give  you  pretty  toys  and  we'd  play 
with  you  and  you'd  be  very  happy." 

Just  think:  Smolicheck  listened  to  them  until  he 
believed  what  they  said!  Then  he  opened  the  door  a 
little  crack  and  instantly  all  those  naughty  little  wood 
maidens  pushed  into  the  room,  seized  Smolicheck,  and 
dragged  him  off. 

They  told  him  they  would  kill  him  if  he  cried  for 
help,  but  nevertheless  Smolicheck  called  out  with  all 
his  might: 

"  Oh,  dear  Golden  Antlers,  wherever  you  are 
In  Valley  or  mountain  or  pasture  afar, 
Come  quick!    Don't  delay! 
The  tricked  wood  maidens  are  dragging  away 
Your  little  Smolicheck! 
Come  quick!    Don't  delay!  " 


106  SMOLICHECK 

But  this  time  Golden  Antlers  was  far  away  and 
didn't  hear  him.  So  no  one  came  to  help  Smolicheck 
and  the  wood  maidens  carried  him  off  to  their  cave. 

There,  instead  of  playing  with  him,  they  tormented 
him  and  teased  him  and  made  faces  at  him.  But  they 
did  give  him  all  he  wanted  to  eat.  In  fact  they  stuffed 
him  with  food,  especially  sweets.  Then  every  day 
they  would  pinch  him  and  say  to  each  other: 

"  Sister,  do  you  think  he's  fat  enough  yet  to  roast?  " 

Imagine  poor  Smolicheck's  feelings  when  he  found 
they  were  fattening  him  on  sweets  because  they  ex- 
pected to  roast  him  and  eat  him! 

Finally  one  day  after  they  had  been  stuffing  him 
for  a  long  time  they  cut  his  little  finger  with  a  knife 
to  see  how  fat  it  was. 

"  Yum,  yum! "  the  wicked  little  wood  maidens  cried. 
"  He's  fat  enough !  Today  we  can  roast  him !  " 

So  they  took  off  his  clothes  and  laid  him  in  a  knead- 
ing trough  and  prepared  him  for  the  oven. 

Smolicheck  was  so  frightened  that  he  just  screamed 
and  screamed,  but  the  louder  he  screamed  the  more 
the  little  wood  maidens  laughed  and  clapped  their 
hands. 

Just  as  they  were  pushing  him  into  the  oven,  Smoli- 
check roared  out: 


SMOLICHECK  107 

"  Oh,  dear  Golden  Antlers,  wherever  you  are 
In  valley  or  mountain  or  pasture  afar, 
Come  quick!    Don't  delay! 
The  wicked  wood  maidens  are  roasting  today 
Your  little  SmolichecJc! 
Come  quick!    Don't  delay!  " 

Suddenly  there  was  the  sound  of  crashing  branches 
and,  before  the  wood  maidens  knew  what  was  happen- 
ing, Golden  Antlers  came  bounding  into  the  cave.  He 
tossed  Smolicheck  upon  his  antlers  and  off  he  sped  as 
swift  as  the  wind. 

When  they  got  home,  he  laid  Smolicheck  across  his 
knee  and  gave  him  something — you  know  what!  And 
Smolicheck  cried  and  said  he  was  sorry  he  had  been 
disobedient.  And  he  said  he  would  never,  never,  never 
again  open  the  door. 

And  this  time  he  never  did! 


BUDULINEK 

THE  STORY  OF  ANOTHER   LITTLE   BOY 
WHO  OPENED  THE  DOOR 


BUDULINEK 

was  once  a  little  boy  named  Budulinek. 
J^     He  lived  with  his  old  Granny  in  a  cottage  near 
a  forest. 

Granny  went  out  to  work  every  day.  In  the  morn- 
ing when  she  went  away  she  always  said: 

"  There,  Budulinek,  there's  your  dinner  on  the  table 
and  mind,  you  mustn't  open  the  door  no  matter  who 
knocks!" 

One  morning  Granny  said: 

"  Now,  Budulinek,  today  I'm  leaving  you  some  soup 
for  your  dinner.  Eat  it  when  dinner  time  comes.  And 
remember  what  I  always  say:  don't  open  the  door  no 
matter  who  knocks." 

She  went  away  and  pretty  soon  Lishka,  the  sly  old 
mother  fox,  came  and  knocked  on  the  door. 

"  Budulinek!  "  she  called.  "  You  know  me!  Open 
the  door!  Please!" 

Budulinek  called  back: 

"  No,  I  mustn't  open  the  door." 

But  Lishka,  the  sly  old  mother  fox,  kept  on 
knocking. 

111 


112  BUDULINEK 

"Listen,  Budulinek,"  she  said:  "if  you  open  the 
door,  do  you  know  what  I'll  do?  I'll  give  you  a  ride 
on  my  tail! " 

Now  Budulinek  thought  to  himself: 

"  Oh,  that  would  be  fun  to  ride  on  the  tail  of  Lishka, 
the  fox!" 

So  Budulinek  forgot  all  about  what  Granny  said  to 
him  every  day  and  opened  the  door. 

Lishka,  the  sly  old  thing,  came  into  the  room  and 
what  do  you  think  she  did?  Do  you  think  she  gave 
Budulinek  a  ride  on  her  tail?  Well,  she  didn't.  She 
just  went  over  to  the  table  and  gobbled  up  the  bowl 
of  soup  that  Granny  had  put  there  for  Budulinek's 
dinner  and  then  she  ran  away. 

When  dinner  £ime  came  Budulinek  hadn't  anything 
to  eat. 

In  the  evening  when  Granny  came  home,  she  said: 

"  Budulinek,  did  you  open  the  door  and  let  any 
one  in? " 

Budulinek  was  crying  because  he  was  so  hungry, 
and  he  said: 

"  Yes,  I  let  in  Lishka,  the  old  mother  fox,  and  she 
ate  up  all  my  dinner,  too! " 

Granny  said: 

"  Now,  Budulinek,  you  see  what  happens  when  you 


BUDULINEK  113 

open  the  door  and  let  some  one  in.  Another  time 
remember  what  Granny  says  and  don't  open  the 
door.' 

The  next  morning  Granny  cooked  some  porridge  for 
Budulinek's  dinner  and  said: 

"Now,  Budulinek,  here's  some  porridge  for  your 
dinner.  Remember:  while  I'm  gone  you  must  not 
open  the  door  no  matter  who  knocks." 

Granny  was  no  sooner  out  of  sight  than  Lishka  came 
again  and  knocked  on  the  door. 

"  Oh,  Budulinek! "  she  called.  "  Open  the  door  and 
let  me  in!" 

But  Budulinek  said: 

"  No,  I  won't  open  the  door! " 

"  Oh,  now,  Budulinek,  please  open  the  door! " 
Lishka  begged.  "  You  know  me !  Do  you  know  what 
I'll  do  if  you  open  the  door?  I'll  give  you  a  ride  on 
my  tail!  Truly  I  will!" 

Budulinek  thought  to  himself: 

"  This  time  maybe  she  will  give  me  a  ride  on  her 
tail." 

So  he  opened  the  door. 

Lishka  came  into  the  room,  gobbled  up  Budulinek's 
porridge,  and  ran  away  without  giving  him  any  ride 
at  all. 


114  BUDULINEK 

When  dinner  time  came  Budulinek  hadn't  anything 
to  eat. 

In  the  evening  when  Granny  came  home  she  said: 

"Budulinek,  did  you  open  the  door  and  let  any 
one  in? " 

Budulinek  was  crying  again  because  he  was  so 
hungry,  and  he  said: 

"  Yes,  I  let  in  Lishka,  the  old  mother  fox,  and  she 
ate  up  all  my  porridge,  too!" 

"  Budulinek,  you're  a  bad  boy!  "  Granny  said.  "  If 
you  open  the  door  again,  I'll  have  to  spank  you!  Do 
you  hear?" 

The  next  morning  before  she  went  to  work,  Granny 
cooked  some  peas  for  Budulinek's  dinner. 

As  soon  as  Granny  was  gone  he  began  eating  the 
peas,  they  were  so  good. 

Presently  Lishka,  the  fox,  came  and  knocked  on  the 
door. 

"  Budulinek! "  she  called.  "  Open  the  door!  I  want 
to  come  in!" 

But  Budulinek  wouldn't  open  the  door.  He  took 
his  bowl  of  peas  and  went  to  the  window  and  ate  them 
there  where  Lishka  could  see  him. 

"Oh,   Budulinek!"   Lishka  begged.     "You  know 


An  organ-grinder  began  playing  in  front  of  Granny't  cottage 


BUDULINEK  117 

me!  Please  open  the  door!  This  time  I  promise  you 
I'll  give  you  a  ride  on  my  tail!  Truly  I  will! " 

She  just  begged  and  begged  until  at  last  Budlinek 
opened  the  door.  Then  Lishka  jumped  into  the  room 
and  do  you  know  what  she  did?  She  put  her  nose 
right  into  the  bowl  of  peas  and  gobbled  them  all  up! 

Then  she  said  to  Budulinek: 

"  Now  get  on  my  tail  and  I'll  give  you  a  ride! " 

So  Budulinek  climbed  on  Lishka's  tail  and  Lishka 
went  running  around  the  room  faster  and  faster  until 
Budulinek  was  dizzy  and  just  had  to  hold  on  with  all 
his  might. 

Then,  before  Budulinek  knew  what  was  happening, 
Lishka  slipped  out  of  the  house  and  ran  swiftly  off 
into  the  forest,  home  to  her  hole,  with  Budulinek  still 
on  her  tail!  She  hid  Budulinek  down  in  her  hole  with 
her  own  three  children  and  she  wouldn't  let  him  out. 
He  had  to  stay  there  with  the  three  little  foxes  and 
they  all  teased  him  and  bit  him.  And  then  wasn't  he 
sorry  he  had  disobeyed  his  Granny!  And,  oh,  how 
he  cried! 

When  Granny  came  home  she  found  the  door  open 
and  no  little  Budulinek  anywhere.  She  looked  high 
and  low,  but  no,  there  was  no  little  Budulinek.  She 
asked  every  one  she  met  had  they  seen  her  little  Budu- 


118  BUDULINEK 

linek,  but  nobody  had.  So  poor  Granny  just  cried  and 
cried,  she  was  so  lonely  and  sad. 

One  day  an  organ-grinder  with  a  wooden  leg  began 
playing  in  front  of  Granny's  cottage.  The  music  made 
her  think  of  Budulinek. 

"  Organ-grinder,"  Granny  said,  "  here's  a  penny  for 
you.  But,  please,  don't  play  any  more.  Your  music 
makes  me  cry." 

"Why  does  it  make  you  cry?"  the  organ-grinder 
asked. 

"  Because  it  reminds  me  of  Budulinek,"  Granny  said, 
and  she  told  the  organ-grinder  all  about  Budulinek 
and  how  somebody  had  stolen  him  away. 

The  organ-grinder  said: 

"Poor  Granny!  I  tell  you  what  I'll  do:  as  I  go 
around  and  play  my  organ  I'll  keep  my  eyes  open  for 
Budulinek.  If  I  find  him  I'll  bring  him  back  to  you." 

"  Will  you?  "  Granny  cried.  "  If  you  bring  me  back 
my  little  Budulinek  I'll  give  you  a  measure  of  rye  and 
a  measure  of  millet  and  a  measure  of  poppy  seed  and  a 
measure  of  everything  in  the  house! " 

So  the  organ-grinder  went  off  and  everywhere  he 
played  his  organ  he  looked  for  Budulinek.  But  he 
couldn't  find  him. 

At  last  one  day  while  he  was  walking  through  the 


BUDULINEK  119 

forest  he  thought  he  heard  a  little  boy  crying.  He 
looked  around  everywhere  until  he  found  a  fox's 
hole. 

"  Oho! "  he  said  to  himself.  "  I  believe  that  wicked 
old  Lishka  must  have  stolen  Budulinek!  She's  prob- 
ably keeping  him  here  with  her  own  three  children  1 
I'll  soon  find  out." 

So  he  put  down  his  organ  and  began  to  play.  And 
as  he  played  he  sang  softly: 

"  One  old  fox 
And    two,    three,    four, 
And  Budulinek 
He  makes  one  more!  " 

Old  Lishka  heard  the  music  playing  and  she  said 
to  her  oldest  child: 

"  Here,  son,  give  the  old  man  a  penny  and  tell  him 
to  go  away  because  my  head  aches." 

So  the  oldest  little  fox  climbed  out  of  the  hole  and 
gave  the  organ-grinder  a  penny  and  said : 

"  My  mother  says,  please  will  you  go  away  because 
her  head  aches." 

As  the  organ-grinder  reached  over  to  take  the 
penny,  he  caught  the  oldest  little  fox  and  stuffed  him 
into  a  sack.  Then  he  went  on  playing  and  singing: 


120  BUDULINEK 

"  One  old  fox 
And  two  and  three 
And  BuduLmek 
Makes  four  for  me!  " 

Presently  Lishka  sent  out  her  second  child  with  a 
penny  and  the  organ-grinder  caught  the  second  little 
fox  in  the  same  way  and  stuffed  it  also  into  the  sack. 
Then  he  went  on  grinding  his  organ  and  softly  singing: 

"  One  old  fox 
And  another  for  me, 
And  BudulineJc 
He  makes  the  three" 

"  I  wonder  why  that  old  man  still  plays  his  organ," 
Lishka  said  and  sent  out  her  third  child  with  a  penny. 

So  the  organ-grinder  caught  the  third  little  fox  and 
stuffed  it  also  into  the  sack.  Then  he  kept  on  playing 
and  singing  softly: 

"  One  old  fox — 
m  soon  get  you! — 
And  Budulmek 
He  makes  just  two. 

At  last  Lishka  herself  came  out.  So  he  caught  her, 
too,  and  stuffed  her  in  with  her  children.  Then  he 
sang: 


BUDULINEK  121 

"  Four  naughty  foxes 
Caught  alive! 
And  Budulinek 
He  makes  the  five!  " 

The  organ-grinder  went  to  the  hole  and  called 
down: 

"  Budulinek !    Budulinek !     Come  out !  " 

As  there  were  no  foxes  left  to  hold  him  back,  Budu- 
linek was  able  to  crawl  out. 

When  he  saw  the  organ-grinder  he  cried  and  said: 

"  Oh,  please,  Mr.  Organ-Grinder,  I  want  to  go 
home  to  my  Granny! " 

"  I'll  take  you  home  to  your  Granny,"  the  organ- 
grinder  said,  "  but  first  I  must  punish  these  naughty 
foxes." 

The  organ-grinder  cut  a  strong  switch  and  gave  the 
four  foxes  in  the  sack  a  terrible  beating  until  they 
begged  him  to  stop  and  promised  that  they  would 
never  again  do  anything  to  Budulinek. 

Then  the  organ-grinder  let  them  go  and  he  took 
Budulinek  home  to  Granny. 

Granny  was  delighted  to  see  her  little  Budulinek 
and  she  gave  the  organ-grinder  a  measure  of  rye  and 
a  measure  of  millet  and  a  measure  of  poppy  seed  and 
a  measure  of  everything  else  in  the  house. 

And  Budulinek  never  again  opened  the  door! 


THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN 

THE  STOEY  OF  A  EOOSTEE  THAT  CHEATED 


THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN 

ONCE  upon  a  time  a  big  Rooster  and  a  dear 
little  Hen  became  close  friends. 

"  Let  us  go  to  the  garden,"  the  Rooster  said,  "  and 
scratch  up  some  seeds  and  worms.  I  tell  you  what 
we'll  do:  everything  you  scratch  up  you  divide 
with  me,  and  everything  I  scratch  up  I'll  divide  with 
you." 

The  dear  little  Hen  agreed  to  this  and  off  they  went 
together  to  the  garden. 

The  dear  little  Hen  scratched  and  scratched  and 
scratched  and  every  time  she  scratched  up  a  nice  fat 
worm  or  a  tasty  seed  she  divided  with  the  Rooster. 

And  the  Rooster  scratched  and  scratched  and 
scratched  and  whenever  the  Hen  saw  him  scratch  up 
something  good  he  divided  with  her.  But  once,  when 
she  wasn't  looking,  he  scratched  up  a  big  grain  of  corn 
and  without  dividing  it  he  tried  to  gobble  it  all  himself. 
He  gobbled  it  so  fast  that  it  stuck  in  his  throat  and 
choked  him. 

"  Oh,  dear  little  Hen!  "  he  gasped.  "  I'm  choking! 
Run  quick  and  get  me  some  water  or  I'll  die! " 

125 


126  THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN 

And  with  that  he  fell  over  on  his  back  and  his  feet 
stuck  straight  up  in  the  air. 

The  dear  little  Hen  ran  to  the  Well  as  fast  as  she 
could  and  all  out  of  breath  she  gasped: 

"  Oh  Well! 
Give  me 
Some  Water 
For  Rooster! 
Choking! 
In  garden! 
On  back! 
Feet  up! 
Oh  dear! 
HSR  die!  - 

The  Well  said: 

"  If  you  want  me  to  give  you  some  Water,  you 
must  go  to  the  Dressmaker  and  get  me  a  Kerchief." 

So  the  dear  little  Hen  ran  to  the  Dressmaker  as  fast 
as  she  could  and  all  out  of  breath  she  gasped: 

"  Dressmaker! 
Give  me 

Kerchief 
For  WeU 
For  Water 
For  Rooster! 
Choking! 
In  garden! 


THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN  127 

On  back! 
Feet  up! 
Oh  dear! 
He'tt  die!  " 

The  Dressmaker  said: 

"  If  you  want  me  to  give  you  a  Kerchief,  you  must 
go  to  the  Shoemaker  and  get  me  a  pair  of  Slippers." 

So  the  dear  little  Hen  ran  to  the  Shoemaker  as  fast 
as  she  could  and  all  out  of  breath  she  gasped: 

"  Shoemaker! 
Give  me 
Slippers 
For  Dressmaker 
For  Kerchief 
For  Wett 
For  Water 
For  Rooster! 
Choking! 
In  garden! 
On  back! 
Feet  up! 
Oh  dear! 
He'Udie!" 

The  Shoemaker  said: 

"  If  you  want  me  to  give  you  a  pair  of  Slippers,  you 
must  go  to  the  Sow  and  get  me  some  Bristles." 

So  the  dear  little  Hen  ran  to  the  Sow  as  fast  as  she 
could  and  all  out  of  breath  she  gasped: 


128  THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN 

"  Oh  Sow! 
Give  me 
Some  Bristles 
For  Shoemaker 
For  Slippers 
For  Dressmaker 
For  Kerchief 
For  Well 
For  Water 
For  Rooster! 
Chokmg! 
In  garden! 
On  back! 
Feet  up! 
Oh  dear! 
He'll  die!  " 


The  Sow  said: 

"  If  you  want  me  to  give  you  some  Bristles,  you 
must  go  to  the  Brewer  and  get  me  some  Malt." 

So  the  dear  little  Hen  ran  to  the  Brewer  as  fast  as 
she  could  and  all  out  of  breath  she  gasped: 


"  Oh  Brewer! 
Give  me 
Some  Malt 
For  Sow 
For  Bristles 
For  Shoemaker 
For  Slippers 
For  Dressmaker 


THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN  129 

For  Kerchief 
For  Well 
For  Water 
For  Rooster! 
Choking! 
In  garden! 
On  back! 
Feet  up! 
Oh  dear! 
He'll  die!" 

The  Brewer  said: 

"  If  you  want  me  to  give  you  some  Malt,  you  must 
go  to  the  Cow  and  get  me  some  Cream." 

So  the  dear  little  Hen  ran  to  the  Cow  as  fast  as  she 
could  and  all  out  of  breath  she  gasped: 

"  Oh  Cow! 
Give  me 
Some  Cream 
For  Brewer 
For  Malt 
For  Sow 
For  Bristles 
For  Shoemaker 
For    Slippers 
For  Dressmaker 
For  Kerchief 
For  Well 
For  Water 
For  Rooster! 
Choking! 
In  garden! 


130  THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN 

On  back! 
Feet  up! 
Oh  dear! 
He'tt  die!  " 

The  Cow  said: 

"  If  you  want  me  to  give  you  some  Cream,  you  must 
go  to  the  Meadow  and  get  me  some  Grass." 

So  the  dear  little  Hen  ran  to  the  Meadow  as  fast  as 
she  could  and  all, out  of  breath  she  gasped: 

"  Oh  Meadow! 
Give  me 
Some  Grass 
For  Cow 
For  Cream 
For  Brewer 
For  Malt 
For  Sow 
For  Bristles 
For  Shoemaker 
For  Slippers 
For  Dressmaker 
For  Kerchief 
For  Well 
For  Water 
For  Rooster! 
Choking! 
In  garden! 
On  back! 
Feet  up! 
Oh  dear! 
He'tt  die!  " 


THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN  181 

The  Meadow  said: 

"  If  you  want  me  to  give  you  some  Grass,  you  must 
get  me  some  Dew  from  the  Sky." 

So  the  dear  little  Hen  looked  up  to  the  Sky  and 
said: 

"  Oh  Sky! 
Dear  Sky! 
Give  me 
Some  Dew 
For  Meadow 
For  Grass 
For  Cow 
For  Cream 
For  Brewer 
For  Malt 
For  Sow 
For  Bristles 
For  Shoemaker 
For  Slippers 
For  Dressmaker 
For  Kerchief 
For  Well 
For  Water 
For  Rooster! 
Choking! 
In  garden! 
On  back! 
Feet  up! 
Oh  Dear! 
He'll  die!  " 


132  THE  DEAR  LITTLE  HEN 

The  Sky  pitied  the  dear  little  Hen  and  at  once  gave 
her  some  Dew. 

So  the  Hen  gave  the  Meadow  the  Dew,  and  the 
Meadow  gave  the  Hen  some  Grass. 

The  Hen  gave  the  Cow  the  Grass,  and  the  Cow  gave 
the  Hen  some  Cream. 

The  Hen  gave  the  Brewer  the  Cream,  and  the 
Brewer  gave  the  Hen  some  Malt. 

The  Hen  gave  the  Sow  the  Malt,  and  the  Sow  gave 
the  Hen  some  Bristles. 

The  Hen  gave  the  Shoemaker  the  Bristles,  and  the 
Shoemaker  gave  the  Hen  a  pair  of  Slippers. 

The  Hen  gave  the  Dressmaker  the  Slippers,  and  the 
Dressmaker  gave  the  Hen  a  Kerchief. 

The  Hen  gave  the  Well  the  Kerchief,  and  the  Well 
gave  the  Hen  some  Water. 

The  Hen  gave  the  Rooster  the  Water,  the  Water 
washed  down  the  grain  of  corn,  and  thereupon  the 
Rooster  jumped  up,  flapped  his  wings,  and  merrily 
crowed : 

"Cockadoodledoo!" 

And  after  that  he  never  again  tried  to  cheat  the 
dear  little  Hen  but  always  whenever  he  scratched  up  a 
nice  fat  worm  or  a  tasty  seed  he  divided  with  her. 


THE  DISOBEDIENT  ROOSTER 

THE  STORY  OF  ANOTHER  LITTLE   HEN 


THE  DISOBEDIENT  ROOSTER 

THERE  were  once  a  Rooster  and  a  Hen  who 
were  very  good  friends.  They  always  went 
about  together  like  brother  and  sister. 

The  Rooster  was  headstrong  and  thoughtless  and 
often  did  foolish  things.  The  little  Hen  was  very  sen- 
sible and  always  looked  after  the  Rooster  as  well  as 
she  could. 

Whenever  he  began  doing  something  foolish,  she 
always  said: 

"  Oh,  my  dear,  you  mustn't  do  that! " 

If  the  Rooster  had  always  obeyed  the  little  Hen 
he  would  be  alive  to  this  day.  But,  as  I  have  told  you, 
he  was  careless  and  headstrong  and  often  he  refused 
to  take  the  little  Hen's  advice. 

One  day  in  the  spring  he  ran  into  the  garden  and 
just  gorged  and  gorged  on  green  gooseberries. 

"Oh,  my  dear!"  the  little  Hen  cried.  "You 
mustn't  eat  green  gooseberries!  Don't  you  know 
they'll  give  you  a  pain  in  your  stomach! " 

But  the  Rooster  wouldn't  listen.  He  just  kept 
on  eating  gooseberry  after  gooseberry  until  at  last  he 

135 


136  THE  DISOBEDIENT  ROOSTER 

got  a  terrible  pain  in  his  stomach  and  then  he  had  to 
stop. 

"  Little  Hen,"  he  cried,  "  help  me!  Oh,  my  stomach! 
Oh!  Oh!" 

He  was  so  sick  that  the  little  Hen  had  to  give  him 
some  hot  peppermint  and  put  a  mustard  plaster  on  his 
stomach. 

After  that  shouldn't  you  suppose  he  would  do  what 
she  told  him?  But  he  didn't.  As  soon  as  he 
was  well  he  was  just  as  careless  and  disobedient  as 
before. 

One  day  he  went  out  to  the  meadow  and  he  just 
ran  and  ran  and  ran  until  he  got  all  overheated  and 
perspired.  Then  he  went  down  to  the  brook  and  began 
drinking  cold  water. 

"  Oh,  my  dear,"  the  little  Hen  cried,  "  you  mustn't 
drink  cold  water  while  you're  overheated!  Wait  and 
cool  off! " 

But  would  the  Rooster  wait  and  cool  off?  No!  He 
just  drank  that  cold  water  and  drank  it  until  he  could 
drink  no  more. 

Then  he  got  a  chill  and  the  poor  little  Hen  had  to 
drag  him  home  and  put  him  to  bed  and  run  for  the 
Doctor. 

The  Doctor  gave  him  bitter  medicine  and  he  didn't 


THE  DISOBEDIENT  ROOSTER  137 

get  well  for  a  long  time.  In  fact  it  was  winter  before 
he  got  out  of  the  house  again. 

Now  shouldn't  you  suppose  that  after  all  this  the 
Rooster  would  never  again  disobey  the  little  Hen? 
If  only  he  had  he  would  be  alive  to  this  day.  Listen, 
now,  to  what  happened: 

One  morning  when  he  got  up,  he  saw  that  ice  was 
beginning  to  form  on  the  river. 

"  Goody!  Goody! "  he  cried.  "  Now  I  can  go  slid- 
ing on  the  ice !  " 

"  Oh,  my  dear,"  the  little  Hen  said,  "  you  mustn't 
go  sliding  on  the  ice  yet!  It's  dangerous!  Wait  a 
few  days  until  it's  frozen  harder  and  then  go  sliding." 

But  would  the  Rooster  listen  to  the  little  Hen?  No! 
He  just  insisted  on  running  out  that  very  moment  and 
sliding  on  the  thin  ice. 

And  do  you  know  what  happened? 

The  ice  broke  and  he  fell  in  the  river  and,  before  the 
little  Hen  could  get  help,  he  was  drowned! 

And  it  was  all  his  own  fault,  too,  for  the  little  Hen 
had  begged  him  to  wait  until  the  ice  was  safer. 


THE  NICKERMAN'S  WIFE 

THE  STOEY   OF  LIDUSHKA  AND   THE   IMPEISONED   DOYES 


THE  NICKERMAN'S  WIFE 

THERE  was  once  a  young  housewife  named 
Lidushka.  One  day  while  she  was  washing 
clothes  in  the  river  a  great  frog,  all  bloated  and  ugly, 
swam  up  to  her.  Lidushka  jumped  back  in  fright. 
The  frog  spread  itself  out  on  the  water,  just  where 
Lidushka  had  been  rinsing  her  clothes,  and  sat  there 
working  its  jaws  as  if  it  wanted  to  say  something. 

"  Shoo !  "  Lidushka  cried,  but  the  frog  stayed  where 
it  was  and  kept  on  working  its  jaws. 

"  You  ugly  old  bloated  thing!  What  do  you  want 
and  why  do  you  sit  there  gaping  at  me? " 

Lidushka  struck  at  the  frog  with  a  piece  of  linen 
to  drive  it  off  so  that  she  could  go  on  with  her  work. 
The  frog  dived,  came  up  at  another  place,  and  at  once 
swam  back  to  Lidushka. 

Lidushka  tried  again  and  again  to  drive  it  away. 
Each  time  she  struck  at  it,  the  frog  dived,  came  up  at 
another  place,  and  then  swam  back.  At  last  Lidushka 
lost  all  patience. 

"  Go  away,  you  old  fat  thing! "  she  screamed.  "  I 
have  to  finish  my  wash!  Go  away,  I  tell  you,  and 

141 


142  THE  NICKERMAN'S  WIFE 

when  your  babies  come  I'll  be  their  godmother!    Do 
you  hear? " 

As  if  it  accepted  this  as  a  promise,  the  frog  croaked: 
"  All  right!  All  right!  All  right!  "  and  swam  off. 

Some  time  after  this,  when  Lidushka  was  again 
doing  her  washing  at  the  river,  the  same  old  frog 
appeared  not  looking  now  so  fat  and  bloated. 

"Come!  Come,  my  dear!"  it  croaked.  "You  re- 
member your  promise!  You  said  you'd  be  godmother 
to  my  babies.  You  must  come  with  me  now  for  we're 
having  the  christening  today." 

Lidushka,  of  course,  had  spoken  jokingly,  but  even 
so  a  promise  is  a  promise  and  must  not  be  broken. 

"But,  you  foolish  frog,"  she  said,  "how  can  I  be 
godmother  to  your  babies?  I  can't  go  down  in  the 
water." 

"  Yes,  you  can!  "  the  old  frog  croaked.  "  Come  on! 
Come  on!  Come  with  me!" 

It  began  swimming  upstream  and  Lidushka  fol- 
lowed, walking  along  the  shore  and  feeling  every  mo- 
ment more  frightened. 

The  old  frog  swam  on  until  it  reached  the  mill-dam. 
Then  it  said  to  Lidushka: 

"  Now,  my  dear,  don't  be  afraid!  Don't  be  afraid! 
Just  lift  that  stone  in  front  of  you.  Under  it  you'll 


THE  NICKERMAN'S  WIFE  143 

find  a  flight  of  stairs  that  lead  straight  down  to  my 
house.  I'll  go  on  ahead.  Do  as  I  say  and  you  can't 
miss  the  way." 

The  frog  disappeared  in  the  water  and  Lidushka 
lifted  the  stone.  Sure  enough  there  was  a  flight  of 
stairs  going  down  under  the  mill-dam.  And  what  kind 
of  stairs  do  you  suppose  they  were?  They  were  not 
made  of  wood  or  stone  but  of  great  solid  blocks  of 
water,  laid  one  on  another,  transparent  and  clear  as 
crystal. 

Lidushka  timidly  went  down  one  step,  then  another, 
and  another,  until  halfway  down  she  was  met  by  the 
old  frog  who  welcomed  her  with  many  noisy  croaks. 

"This  way,  dear  godmother!  This  way!  Don't  be 
afraid!  Don't  be  afraid!  " 

Lidushka  picked  up  courage  and  took  the  remaining 
stairs  more  bravely.  The  frog  then  led  her  to  its  house 
which,  like  the  stairs,  was  built  of  beautiful  crystal 
water,  sparkling  and  transparent. 

Inside  everything  was  in  readiness  for  the  christen- 
ing. Lidushka  at  once  took  the  baby  frogs  in  her  arms 
and  held  them  during  the  ceremony. 

After  the  christening  came  a  mighty  feast  to  which 
many  frogs  from  near  and  far  had  been  invited.  The 
old  frog  presented  them  all  to  Lidushka  and  they 


144.  THE  NICKERMAN'S  WIFE 

made  much  ado  over  her,  hopping  about  her  and  croak- 
ing out  noisy  compliments. 

Fish  course  after  fish  course  was  served — nothing 
but  fish,  prepared  in  every  possible  manner:  boiled  and 
broiled  and  fried  and  pickled.  And  there  was  every 
possible  kind  of  fish:  the  finest  carp  and  pike  and 
mullet  and  trout  and  whiting  and  perch  and  many 
more  of  which  Lidushka  didn't  even  know  the  names. 

When  she  had  eaten  all  she  could,  Lidushka  slipped 
away  from  the  other  guests  and  wandered  off  alone 
through  the  house. 

She  opened  by  chance  a  door  that  led  into  a  sort  of 
pantry.  It  was  lined  with  long  shelves  and  on  the 
shelves  were  rows  and  rows  of  little  earthenware  pots 
all  turned  upside  down.  It  seemed  strange  to 
Lidushka  that  they  should  all  be  upside  down  and 
she  wondered  why. 

She  lifted  one  pot  up  and  under  it  she  found  a  lovely 
white  dove.  The  dove,  happy  at  being  released,  shook 
out  its  plumage,  spread  its  wings,  and  flew  away. 

Lidushka  lifted  a  second  pot  and  under  it  there  was 
another  lovely  dove  which  at  once  spread  its  fluttering 
wings  and  flew  off  as  happy  as  its  fellow. 

Lidushka  lifted  up  a  third  pot  and  there  was  a  third 
dove. 


THE  NICKERMAN'S  WIFE  145 

"There  must  be  doves  under  all  these  pots!"  she 
told  herself.  "What  cruel  creature  has  imprisoned 
them,  I  wonder?  As  the  dear  God  has  given  man  a 
soul  to  live  forever,  so  He  has  given  the  birds  wings 
to  fly,  and  He  never  intended  them  to  be  imprisoned 
under  dark  pots.  Wait,  dear  doves,  and  I'll  set  you 
all  free!" 

So  Lidushka  lifted  pot  after  pot  and  from  under 
every  one  of  them  an  imprisoned  dove  escaped  and 
flew  joyously  away. 

Just  as  she  had  lifted  the  last  pot,  the  old  frog  came 
hopping  in  to  her  in  great  excitement. 

"  Oh,  my  dear,  my  dear! "  she  croaked.  "  What 
have  you  done  setting  free  all  those  souls !  Quick  and 
get  you  a  lump  of  dry  earth  or  a  piece  of  toasted  bread 
or  my  husband  will  catch  you  and  take  your  soul! 
Here  he  comes  now! " 

Lidushka  looked  up  through  the  crystal  walls  of  the 
house  but  could  see  no  one  coming.  Then  in  the  dis- 
tance she  saw  some  beautiful  bright  red  streamers 
floating  towards  her  on  the  top  of  the  water.  They 
came  nearer  and  nearer. 

"Oh!"  she  thought  to  herself  in  sudden  fright. 
"Those  must  be  the  red  streamers  of  a  nickerman!" 

Instantly   she  remembered  the   stories  her  grand- 


146  THE  NICKERMAN'S  WIFE 

mother  used  to  tell  her  when  she  was  a  child,  how  the 
wicked  nickerman  lured  people  to  their  death  with 
bright  red  streamers.  Many  an  innocent  maid,  haying 
along  the  river,  has  seen  the  lovely  streamers  in  the 
water  and  reached  after  them  with  her  rake.  That  is 
what  the  nickerman  wants  her  to  do  for  then  he  can 
catch  her  and  drag  her  down,  down,  down,  under  the 
water  where  he  drowns  her  and  takes  her  soul.  The 
nickerman  is  so  powerful  that,  if  once  he  gets  you, 
he  can  drown  you  in  a  teaspoon  of  water!  But  if  you 
clutch  in  your  hand  a  clod  of  dry  earth  or  a  piece  of 
toasted  bread,  then  he  is  powerless  to  harm  you. 

"Oh!"  Lidushka  cried.  "Now  I  understand! 
Those  white  doves  were  the  souls  of  poor  innocents 
whom  this  wicked  nickerman  has  drowned!  God  help 
me  to  escape  him!  " 

"  Hurry,  my  dear,  hurry! "  the  old  frog  croaked. 
"  Run  up  the  crystal  stairs  and  replace  the  stone ! " 

Lidushka  flew  up  the  stairs  and  as  she  reached  the 
top  she  clutched  a  handful  of  dry  earth.  Then  she 
replaced  the  stone  and  the  water  flowed  over  the  stairs. 

The  nickerman  spread  out  his  red  streamers  close 
to  the  shore  and  tried  to  catch  her,  but  she  was  not  to 
be  tempted. 

"  I  know  who  you  are! "  she  cried,  holding  tight  her 


THE  NICKERMAN'S  WIFE  147 

handful  of  dry  earth.  "You'll  never  get  my  soul! 
And  you'll  never  again  imprison  under  your  black  pots 
all  the  poor  innocent  souls  I  liberated! " 

Years  afterwards  when  Lidushka  had  children  of 
her  own,  she  used  to  tell  them  this  story  and  say  to 
them: 

"  And  now,  my  dears,  you  know  why  it  is  dangerous 
to  reach  out  in  the  water  for  a  red  streamer  or  a  pretty 
water  lily.  The  wicked  nickerman  may  be  there  just 
waiting  to  catch  you." 


BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON 

THE    STORY    OF   A    SHEPHERD    WHO    SLEPT    ALL    WINTER 


BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  shepherd  who  was 
called  Batcha.  During  the  summer  he  pastured 
his  flocks  high  up  on  the  mountain  where  he  had  a 
little  hut  and  a  sheepfold. 

One  day  in  autumn  while  he  was  lying  on  the 
ground,  idly  blowing  his  pipes,  he  chanced  to  look 
down  the  mountain  slope.  There  he  saw  a  most 
amazing  sight.  A  great  army  of  snakes,  hundreds 
and  hundreds  in  number,  was  slowly  crawling  to  a 
rocky  cliff  not  far  from  where  he  was  lying. 

When  they  reached  the  cliff,  every  serpent  bit  off 
a  leaf  from  a  plant  that  was  growing  there.  They 
then  touched  the  cliff  with  the  leaves  and  the  rock 
opened.  One  by  one  they  crawled  inside.  When  the 
last  one  had  disappeared,  the  rock  closed. 

Batcha  blinked  his  eyes  in  bewilderment. 

"What  can  this  mean?"  he  asked  himself.  "Where 
are  they  gone?  I  think  I'll  have  to  climb  up  there 
myself  and  see  what  that  plant  is.  I  wonder  will  the 
rock  open  for  me? " 

He  whistled  to  Dunay,  his  dog,  and  left  him  in 

151 


152  BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON 

charge  of  the  sheep.  Then  he  made  his  way  over  to 
the  cliff  and  examined  the  mysterious  plant.  It  was 
something  he  had  never  seen  before. 

He  picked  a  leaf  and  touched  the  cliff  in  the  same 
place  where  the  serpents  had  touched  it.  Instantly 
the  rock  opened. 

Batcha  stepped  inside.  He  found  himself  in  a  huge 
cavern  the  walls  of  which  glittered  with  gold  and 
silver  and  precious  stones.  A  golden  table  stood  in  the 
center  and  upon  it  a  monster  serpent,  a  very  king  of 
serpents,  lay  coiled  up  fast  asleep.  The  other  ser- 
pents, hundreds  and  hundreds  of  them,  lay  on  the 
ground  around  the  table.  They  also  were  fast  asleep. 
As  Batcha  walked  about,  not  one  of  them  stirred. 

Batcha  sauntered  here  and  there  examining  the  walls 
and  the  golden  table  and  the  sleeping  serpents.  When 
he  had  seen  everything  he  thought  to  himself: 

"  It's  very  strange  and  interesting  and  all  that, 
but  now  it's  time  for  me  to  get  back  to  my  sheep." 

It's  easy  to  say:  "Now  I'm  going,"  but  when 
Batcha  tried  to  go  he  found  he  couldn't,  for  the  rock 
had  closed.  So  there  he  was  locked  in  with  the 
serpents. 

He  was  a  philosophical  fellow  and  so,  after  puz- 
zling a  moment,  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  said: 


BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON  153 

"  Well,  if  I  can't  get  out  I  suppose  I'll  have  to 
stay  here  for  the  night." 

With  that  he  drew  his  cape  about  him,  lay  down, 
and  was  soon  fast  asleep. 

He  was  awakened  by  a  rustling  murmur.  Thinking 
that  he  was  in  his  own  hut,  he  sat  up  and  rubbed  his 
eyes.  Then  he  saw  the  glittering  walls  of  the  cavern 
and  remembered  his  adventure. 

The  old  king  serpent  still  lay  on  the  golden  table 
but  no  longer  asleep.  A  movement  like  a  slow  wave 
was  rippling  his  great  coils.  All  the  other  serpents 
on  the  ground  were  facing  the  golden  table  and  with 
darting  tongues  were  hissing: 

"Is  it  time?    Is  it  time?" 

The  old  king  serpent  slowly  lifted  his  head  and 
with  a  deep  murmurous  hiss  said: 

"Yes,  it  is  time." 

He  stretched  out  his  long  body,  slipped  off  the 
golden  table,  and  glided  away  to  the  wall  of  the  cavern. 
All  the  smaller  serpents  wriggled  after  him. 

Batcha  followed  them,  thinking  to  himself: 

"I'll  go  out  the  way  they  go." 

The  old  king  serpent  touched  the  wall  with  his 
tongue  and  the  rock  opened.  Then  he  glided  aside 
and  the  serpents  crawled  out,  one  by  one.  When  the 


154  BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON 

last  one  was  out,  Batcha  tried  to  follow,  but  the  rock 
swung  shut  in  his  face,  again  locking  him  in. 

The  old  king  serpent  hissed  at  him  in  a  deep 
breathy  voice: 

"  Hah,  you  miserable  man  creature,  you  can't  get 
out!  You're  here  and  here  you  stay!" 

"  But  I  can't  stay  here,"  Batcha  said.  "  What  can 
I  do  in  here?  I  can't  sleep  forever!  You  must  let 
me  out!  I  have  sheep  at  pasture  and  a  scolding  wife 
at  home  in  the  valley.  She'll  have  a  thing  or  two  to 
say  if  I'm  late  in  getting  back!" 

Batcha  pleaded  and  argued  until  at  last  the  old 
serpent  said: 

"  Very  well,  I'll  let  you  out,  but  not  until  you  have 
made  me  a  triple  oath  that  you  won't  tell  any  one  how 
you  came  in." 

Batcha  agreed  to  this.  Three  times  he  swore  a 
mighty  oath  not  to  tell  any  one  how  he  had  entered 
the  cavern. 

"  I  warn  you,"  the  old  serpent  said,  as  he  opened 
the  wall,  "  if  you  break  this  oath  a  terrible  fate  will 
overtake  you! " 

Without  another  word  Batcha  hurried  through  the 
opening. 

Once    outside    he    looked    about;   him    in    surprise. 


BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON  155 

Everything  seemed  changed.  It  was  autumn  when  he 
had  followed  the  serpents  into  the  cavern.  Now 
it  was  spring  1 

"What  has  happened?"  he  cried  in  fright.  "Oh, 
what  an  unfortunate  fellow  I  am!  Have  I  slept 
through  the  winter?  Where  are  my  sheep?  And  my 
wife — what  will  she  say?  " 

With  trembling  knees  he  made  his  way  to  his  hut. 
His  wife  was  busy  inside.  He  could  see  her  through 
the  open  door.  He  didn't  know  what  to  say  to 
her  at  first,  so  he  slipped  into  the  sheepfold  and 
hid  himself  while  he  tried  to  think  out  some  likely 
story. 

While  he  was  crouching  there,  he  saw  a  finely 
dressed  gentleman  come  to  the  door  of  the  hut  and  ask 
his  wife  where  her  husband  was. 

The  woman  burst  into  tears  and  explained  to  the 
stranger  that  one  day  in  the  previous  autumn  her 
husband  had  taken  out  his  sheep  as  usual  and  had 
never  come  back. 

"  Dunay,  the  dog,"  she  said,  "  drove  home  the  sheep 
and  from  that  day  to  this  nothing  has  ever  been 
heard  of  my  poor  husband.  I  suppose  a  wolf  devoured 
him,  or  the  witches  caught  him  and  tore  him  to  pieces 
and  scattered  him  over  the  mountain.  And  here  I  am 


156  BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON 

left,  a  poor  forsaken  widow!  Oh  dear,  oh  dear,  oh 
dear! " 

Her  grief  was  so  great  that  Batcha  leaped  out 
of  the  sheepfold  to  comfort  her. 

"There,  there,  dear  wife,  don't  cry!  Here  I  am, 
alive  and  well!  No  wolf  ate  me,  no  witches  caught 
me.  I've  been  asleep  in  the  sheepfold — that's  all.  I 
must  have  slept  all  winter  long!" 

At  sight  and  sound  of  her  husband,  the  woman 
stopped  crying.  Her  grief  changed  to  surprise,  then 
to  fury. 

"You  wretch!"  she  cried.  "You  lazy,  good-for- 
nothing  loafer!  A  nice  kind  of  shepherd  you  are  to 
desert  your  sheep  and  yourself  to  idle  away  the  winter 
sleeping  like  a  serpent!  That's  a  fine  story,  isn't  it, 
and  I  suppose  you  think  me  fool  enough  to  believe 
it!  Oh,  you — you  sheep's  tick,  where  have  you  been 
and  what  have  you  been  doing? " 

She  flew  at  Batcha  with  both  hands  and  there's 
no  telling  what  she  would  have  done  to  him  if  the 
stranger  hadn't  interfered. 

"  There,  there,"  he  said,  "  no  use  getting  excited ! 
Of  course  he  hasn't  been  sleeping  here  in  the  sheepfold 
all  winter.  The  question  is,  where  has  he  been?  Here 
is  some  money  for  you.  Take  it  and  go  along  home 


BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON  157 

to  your  cottage  in  the  valley.  Leave  Batcha  to  me  and 
I  promise  you  I'll  get  the  truth  out  of  him." 

The  woman  abused  her  husband  some  more  and  then, 
pocketing  the  money,  went  off. 

As  soon  as  she  was  gone,  the  stranger  changed 
into  a  horrible  looking  creature  with  a  third  eye  in 
the  middle  of  his  forehead. 

"  Good  heavens!  "  Batcha  gasped  in  fright.  "  He's 
the  wizard  of  the  mountain!  Now  what's  going  to 
happen  to  me !  " 

Batcha  had  often  heard  terrifying  stories  of  the 
wizard,  how  he  could  himself  take  any  form  he  wished 
and  how  he  could  turn  a  man  into  a  ram. 

"Aha!"  the  wizard  laughed.  "I  see  you  know 
me!  Now  then,  no  more  lies!  Tell  me:  where  have 
you  been  all  winter  long? " 

At  first  Batcha  remembered  his  triple  oath  to  the 
old  king  serpent  and  he  feared  to  break  it.  But  when 
the  wizard  thundered  out  the  same  question  a  second 
time  and  a  third  time,  and  grew  bigger  and  more 
horrible  looking  each  time  he  spoke,  Batcha  forgot 
his  oath  and  confessed  everything. 

"  Now  come  with  me,"  the  wizard  said.  "  Show  me 
the  cliff.  Show  me  the  magic  plant." 

What   could    Batcha   do   but   obey?     He   led   the 


158  BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON 

wizard  to  the  cliff  and  picked  a  leaf  of  the  magic 
plant. 

"  Open  the  rock,"  the  wizard  commanded. 

Batcha  laid  the  leaf  against  the  cliff  and  instantly 
the  rock  opened. 

"Go  inside!"  the  wizard  ordered. 

But  Batcha's  trembling  legs  refused  to  move. 

The  wizard  took  out  a  book  and  began  mumbling 
an  incantation.  Suddenly  the  earth  trembled,  the  sky 
thundered,  and  with  a  great  hissing  whistling  sound 
a  monster  dragon  flew  out  of  the  cavern.  It  was  the 
old  king  serpent  whose  seven  years  were  up  and  who 
was  now  become  a  flying  dragon.  From  his  huge 
mouth  he  breathed  out  fire  and  smoke.  With  his  long 
tail  he  swished  right  and  left  among  the  forest  trees 
and  these  snapped  and  broke  like  little  twigs. 

The  wizard,  still  mumbling  from  his  book,  handed 
Batcha  a  bridle. 

"  Throw  this  around  his  neck ! "  he  commanded. 

Batcha  took  the  bridle  but  was  too  terrified  to  act. 
The  wizard  spoke  again  and  Batcha  made  one  un- 
certain step  in  the  dragon's  direction.  He  lifted  his 
arm  to  throw  the  bridle  over  the  dragon's  head,  when 
the  dragon  suddenly  turned  on  him,  swooped  under 
him,  and  before  Batcha  knew  what  was  happening  he 


On,  on,  they  -went,  whizzing  through  the  stars  of  heaven 


BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON  161 

found  himself  on  the  dragon's  back  and  he  felt  him- 
self being  lifted  up,  up,  up,  above  the  tops  of  the 
forest  trees,  above  the  very  mountains  themselves. 

For  a  moment  the  sky  was  so  dark  that  only  the  fire, 
spurting  from  the  dragon's  eyes  and  mouth,  lighted 
them  on  their  way. 

The  dragon  lashed  this  way  and  that  in  fury,  he 
belched  forth  great  floods  of  boiling  water,  he  hissed, 
he  roared,  until  Batcha,  clinging  to  his  back,  was  half 
dead  with  fright. 

Then  gradually  his  anger  cooled.  He  ceased  belch- 
ing forth  boiling  water,  he  stopped  breathing  fire, 
his  hisses  grew  less  terrifying. 

"Thank  God!"  Batcha  gasped.  "Perhaps  now 
he'll  sink  to  earth  and  let  me  go." 

But  the  dragon  was  not  yet  finished  with  punishing 
Batcha  for  breaking  his  oath.  He  rose  still  higher 
until  the  mountains  of  the  earth  looked  like  tiny  ant- 
hills, still  up  until  even  these  had  disappeared.  On,  on 
they  went,  whizzing  through  the  stars  of  heaven. 

At  last  the  dragon  stopped  flying  and  hung  motion- 
less in  the  firmament.  To  Batcha  this  was  even  more 
terrifying  than  moving. 

"What  shall  I  do?  What  shall  I  do?"  he  wept 
in  agony.  "  If  I  jump  down  to  earth  I'll  kill  myself 


162  BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON 

and  I  can't  fly  on  up  to  heaven!  Oh,  dragon,  have 
mercy  on  me!  Fly  back  to  earth  and  let  me  go  and 
I  swear  before  God  that  never  again  until  death  will 
I  offend  you!" 

Batcha's  pleading  would  have  moved  a  stone  to  pity 
but  the  dragon,  with  an  angry  shake  of  his  tail,  only 
hardened  his  heart. 

Suddenly  Batcha  heard  the  sweet  voice  of  the  sky- 
lark that  was  mounting  to  heaven. 

"Skylark!"  he  called.  "Dear  skylark,  bird  that 
God  loves,  help  me,  for  I  am  in  great  trouble!  Fly 
up  to  heaven  and  tell  God  Almighty  that  Batcha,  the 
shepherd,  is  hung  in  midair  on  a  dragon's  back.  Tell 
Him  that  Batcha  praises  Him  forever  and  begs  Him 
to  deliver  him." 

The  skylark  carried  this  message  to  heaven  and 
God  Almighty,  pitying  the  poor  shepherd,  took  some 
birch  leaves  and  wrote  on  them  in  letters  of  gold. 
He  put  them  in  the  skylark's  bill  and  told  the  skylark 
to  drop  them  on  the  dragon's  head. 

So  the  skylark  returned  from  heaven  and,  hovering 
over  Batcha,  dropped  the  birch  leaves  on  the  dragon's 
head. 

The  dragon  instantly  sank  to  earth,  so  fast  that 
Batcha  lost  consciousness. 


BATCHA  AND  THE  DRAGON  163 

When  he  came  to  himself  he  was  sitting  before  his 
own  hut.  He  looked  about  him.  The  dragon's  cliff 
had  disappeared.  Otherwise  everything  was  the  same. 

It  was  late  afternoon  and  Dunay,  the  dog,  was  driv- 
ing home  the  sheep.  There  was  a  woman  coming  up 
the  mountain  path. 

Batcha  heaved  a  great  sigh. 

"  Thank  God  I'm  back!  "  he  said  to  himself.  "  How 
fine  it  is  to  hear  Dunay's  bark!  And  here  comes 
my  wife,  God  bless  her!  She'll  scold  me,  I  know,  but 
even  if  she  does,  how  glad  I  am  to  see  her! " 


CLEVER  MANKA 

THE   STOEY   OF   A   GIRL   WHO   KNEW    WHAT   TO   SAY 


CLEVER  MANKA 

fT^HERE  was  once  a  rich  farmer  who  was  as 
A  grasping  and  unscrupulous  as  he  was  rich.  He 
was  always  driving  a  hard  bargain  and  always  getting 
the  better  of  his  poor  neighbors.  One  of  these  neigh- 
bors was  a  humble  shepherd  who  in  return  for  service 
was  to  receive  from  the  farmer  a  heifer.  When  the 
time  of  payment  came  the  farmer  refused  to  give  the 
shepherd  the  heifer  and  the  shepherd  was  forced  to 
lay  the  matter  before  the  burgomaster. 

The  burgomaster,  who  was  a  young  man  and  as  yet 
not  very  experienced,  listened  to  both  sides  and  when 
he  had  deliberated  he  said: 

"  Instead  of  deciding  this  case,  I  will  put  a  riddle 
to  you  both  and  the  man  who  makes  the  best  answer 
shall  have  the  heifer.  Are  you  agreed? " 

The  farmer  and  the  shepherd  accepted  this  proposal 
and  the  burgomaster  said: 

"  Well  then,  here  is  my  riddle:  What  is  the  swiftest 
thing  in  the  world?  What  is  the  sweetest  thing? 
What  is  the  richest?  Think  out  your  answers  and 
bring  them  to  me  at  this  same  hour  tomorrow." 

167 


168  CLEVER  MANKA 

The  farmer  went  home  in  a  temper. 

"  What  kind  of  a  burgomaster  is  this  young  fellow! " 
he  growled.  "  If  he  had  let  me  keep  the  heifer  I'd 
have  sent  him  a  bushel  of  pears.  But  now  I'm  in  a 
fair  way  of  losing  the  heifer  for  I  can't  think  of  any 
answer  to  his  foolish  riddle." 

"What  is  the  matter,  husband?"  his  wife  asked. 

"  It's  that  new  burgomaster.  The  old  one  would 
have  given  me  the  heifer  without  any  argument,  but 
this  young  man  thinks  to  decide  the  case  by  asking  us 
riddles." 

When  he  told  his  wife  what  the  riddle  was,  she 
cheered  him  greatly  by  telling  him  that  she  knew 
the  answers  at  once. 

"Why,  husband,"  said  she,  "our  gray  mare  must 
be  the  swiftest  thing  in  the  world.  You  know  your- 
self nothing  ever  passes  us  on  the  road.  As  for  the 
sweetest,  did  you  ever  taste  honey  any  sweeter  than 
ours?  And  I'm  sure  there's  nothing  richer  than  our 
chest  of  golden  ducats  that  we've  been  laying  by  these 
forty  years." 

The  farmer  was  delighted. 

"You're  right,  wife,  you're  right!  That  heifer 
remains  ours ! " 

The  shepherd  when  he  got  home  was  downcast  and 


CLEVER  MANKA  169 

sad.  He  had  a  daughter,  a  clever  girl  named  Manka, 
who  met  him  at  the  door  of  his  cottage  and 
asked : 

"What  is  it,  father?  What  did  the  burgomaster 
say? " 

The  shepherd  sighed. 

"  I'm  afraid  I've  lost  the  heifer.  The  burgomaster 
set  us  a  riddle  and  I  know  I  shall  never  guess  it." 

"  Perhaps  I  can  help  you,"  Manka  said.  "  What  is 
it?" 

So  the  shepherd  gave  her  the  riddle  and  the  next 
day  as  he  was  setting  out  for  the  burgomaster's,  Manka 
told  him  what  answers  to  make. 

When  he  reached  the  burgomaster's  house,  the 
farmer  was  already  there  rubbing  his  hands  and  beam- 
ing with  self-importance. 

The  burgomaster  again  propounded  the  riddle  and 
then  asked  the  farmer  his  answers. 

The  farmer  cleared  his  throat  and  with  a  pompous 
air  began: 

"  The  swiftest  thing  in  the  world?  Why,  my  dear 
sir,  that's  my  gray  mare,  of  course,  for  no  other  horse 
ever  passes  us  on  the  road.  The  sweetest?  Honey 
from  my  beehives,  to  be  sure.  The  richest?  What  can 
be  richer  than  my  chest  of  golden  ducats  1" 


170  CLEVER  MANKA 

And  the  farmer  squared  his  shoulders  and  smiled 
triumphantly. 

"  H'm,"  said  the  young  burgomaster,  dryly.  Then 
he  asked: 

"  What  answers  does  tEe  shepherd  make? " 

The  shepherd  bowed  politely  and  said: 

"  The  swiftest  thing  in  the  world  is  thought  for 
thought  can  run  any  distance  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye.  The  sweetest  thing  of  all  is  sleep  for  when  a 
man  is  tired  and  sad  what  can  be  sweeter?  The  richest 
thing  is  the  earth  for  out  of  the  earth  come  all  the 
riches  of  the  world." 

"Good!"  the  burgomaster  cried.  "Good!  The 
heifer  goes  to  the  shepherd!" 

Later  the  burgomaster  said  to  the  shepherd: 

"Tell  me,  now,  who  gave  you  those  answers?  I'm 
sure  they  never  came  out  of  your  own  head." 

At  first  the  shepherd  tried  not  to  tell,  but  when 
the  burgomaster  pressed  him  he  confessed  that  they 
came  from  his  daughter,  Manka.  The  burgomaster, 
who  thought  he  would  like  to  make  another  test  of 
Manka's  cleverness,  sent  for  ten  eggs.  He  gave  them 
to  the  shepherd  and  said : 

"Take  these  eggs  to  Manka  and  tell  her  to  have 


CLEVER  MANKA  171 

them  hatched  out  by  tomorrow  and  to  bring  me  the 
chicks." 

When  the  shepherd  reached  home  and  gave  Manka 
the  burgomaster's  message,  Manka  laughed  and  said: 
"  Take  a  handful  of  millet  and  go  right  back  to  the 
burgomaster.  Say  to  him:  'My  daughter  sends  you 
this  millet.  She  says  that  if  you  plant  it,  grow  it,  and 
have  it  harvested  by  tomorrow,  she'll  bring  you  the 
ten  chicks  and  you  can  feed  them  the  ripe  grain.'  " 

When  the  burgomaster  heard  this,  he  laughed 
heartily. 

"  That's  a  clever  girl  of  yours,"  he  told  the  shep- 
herd. "  If  she's  as  comely  as  she  is  clever,  I  think 
I'd  like  to  marry  her.  Tell  her  to  come  to  see  me, 
but  she  must  come  neither  by  day  nor  by  night,  neither 
riding  nor  walking,  neither  dressed  nor  undressed." 

When  Manka  received  this  message  she  waited 
until  the  next  dawn  when  night  was  gone  and  day  not 
yet  arrived.  Then  she  wrapped  herself  in  a  fish- 
net and,  throwing  one  leg  over  a  goat's  back  and  keep- 
ing one  foot  on  the  ground,  she  went  to  the  burgomas- 
ter's house. 

Now  I  ask  you:  did  she  go  dressed?  No,  she 
wasn't  dressed.  A  fishnet  isn't  clothing.  Did  she 
go  undressed?  Of  course  not,  for  wasn't  she  covered 


172  CLEVER  MANKA 

with  a  fishnet?  Did  she  walk  to  the  burgomaster's? 
No,  she  didn't  walk  for  she  went  with  one  leg  thrown 
over  a  goat.  Then  did  she  ride?  Of  course  she  didn't 
ride  for  wasn't  she  walking  on  one  foot? 

When  she  reached  the  burgomaster's  house  she  called 
out: 

"  Here   I   am,   Mr.   Burgomaster,   and   I've   come 
neither  by  day  nor  by  night,  neither  riding  nor  walk-   . 
ing,  neither  dressed  nor  undressed." 

The  young  burgomaster  was  so  delighted  with 
Manka's  cleverness  and  so  pleased  with  her  comely 
looks  that  he  proposed  to  her  at  once  and  in  a  short 
time  married  her. 

"  But  understand,  my  dear  Manka,"  he  said,  "  you 
are  not  to  use  that  cleverness  of  yours  at  my  expense. 
I  won't  have  you  interfering  in  any  of  my  cases.  In 
fact  if  ever  you  give  advice  to  any  one  who  comes  to 
me  for  judgment,  I'll  turn  you  out  of  my  house  at 
once  and  send  you  home  to  your  father." 

All  went  well  for  a  time.  Manka  busied  herself  in 
her  house-keeping  and  was  careful  not  to  interfere 
in  any  of  the  burgomaster's  cases. 

Then  one  day  two  farmers  came  to  the  burgomaster 
to  have  a  dispute  settled.  One  of  the  farmers  owned 
a  mare  which  had  foaled  in  the  marketplace.  The 


CLEVER  MANKA  173 

colt  had  run  under  the  wagon  of  the  other  farmer 
and  thereupon  the  owner  of  the  wagon  claimed  the 
colt  as  his  property. 

The  burgomaster,  who  was  thinking  of  something 
else  while  the  case  was  being  presented,  said  carelessly: 

"  The  man  who  found  the  colt  under  his  wagon  is, 
of  course,  the  owner  of  the  colt." 

As  the  owner  of  the  mare  was  leaving  the  burgo- 
master's house,  he  met  Manka  and  stopped  to  tell  her 
about  the  case.  Manka  was  ashamed  of  her  husband 
for  making  so  foolish  a  decision  and  she  said  to  the 
farmer: 

"  Come  back  this  afternoon  with  a  fishing  net  and 
stretch  it  across  the  dusty  road.  When  the  burgo- 
master sees  you  he  will  come  out  and  ask  you  what  you 
are  doing.  Say  to  him  that  you're  catching  fish.  When 
he  asks  you  how  you  can  expect  to  catch  fish  in  a 
dusty  road,  tell  him  it's  just  as  easy  for  you  to  catch 
fish  in  a  dusty  road  as  it  is  for  a  wagon  to  foal.  Then 
he'll  see  the  injustice  of  his  decision  and  have  the  colt 
returned  to  you.  But  remember  one  thing:  you 
mustn't  let  him  find  out  that  it  was  I  who  told  you 
to  do  this." 

That  afternoon  when  the  burgomaster  chanced  to 
look  out  the  window  he  saw  a  man  stretching  a  fish- 


174  CLEVER  MANKA 

net  across  the  dusty  road.  He  went  out  to  him  and 
asked: 

"  What  are  you  doing? " 

"  Fishing." 

"  Fishing  in  a  dusty  road?    Are  you  daft? " 

"  Well,"  fEe  man  said,  "  it's  just  as  easy  for  me  to 
catch  fish  in  a  dusty  road  as  it  is  for  a  wagon  to 
foal." 

Then  the  burgomaster  recognized  the  man  as  the 
owner  of  the  mare  and  he  had  to  confess  that  what 
he  said  was  true. 

"  Of  course  the  colt  belongs  to  your  mare  and  must 
be  returned  to  you.  But  tell  me,"  he  said,  "  who  put 
you  up  to  this?  You  didn't  think  of  it  yourself." 

The  farmer  tried  not  to  tell  but  the  burgomaster 
questioned  him  until  he  found  out  that  Manka  was  at 
the  bottom  of  it.  This  made  him  very  angry.  He 
went  into  the  house  and  called  his  wife. 

"  Manka,"  he  said,  "  do  you  forget  what  I  told  you 
would  happen  if  you  went  interfering  in  any  of  my 
cases?  Home  you  go  this  very  day.  I  don't  care  to 
hear  any  excuses.  The  matter  is  settled.  You  may 
take  with  you  the  one  thing  you  like  best  in  my  house 
for  I  won't  have  people  saying  that  I  treated  you 
shabbily." 


CLEVER  MANKA  175 

Manka  made  no  outcry. 

"  Very  well,  my  dear  husband,  I  shall  do  as  you 
say:  I  shall  go  home  to  my  father's  cottage  and  take 
with  me  the  one  thing  I  like  best  in  your  house.  But 
don't  make  me  go  until  after  supper.  We  have  been 
very  happy  together  and  I  should  like  to  eat  one  last 
meal  with  you.  Let  us  have  no  more  words  but  be 
kind  to  each  other  as  we've  always  been  and  then  part 
as  friends." 

The  burgomaster  agreed  to  this  and  Manka  pre- 
pared a  fine  supper  of  all  the  dishes  of  which  her 
husband  was  particularly  fond.  The  burgomaster 
opened  his  choicest  wine  and  pledged  Manka's  health. 
Then  he  set  to,  and  the  supper  was  so  good  that  he 
ate  and  ate  and  ate.  And  the  more  he  ate,  the  more 
he  drank  until  at  last  he  grew  drowsy  and  fell  sound 
asleep  in  his  chair.  Then  without  awakening  him 
Manka  had  him  carried  out  io  the  wagon  that  was 
waiting  to  take  her  home  to  her  father. 

The  next  morning  when  the  burgomaster  opened 
his  eyes,  he  found  himself  lying  in  the  shepherd's  cot- 
tage. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  he  roared  out. 

"Nothing,  dear  husband,  nothing!"  Manka  said. 
"  You  know  you  told  me  I  might  take  with  me  the  one 


176  CLEVER  MANKA 

thing  I  liked  best  in  your  house,  so  of  course  I  took 
you!  That's  all." 

For  a  moment  the  burgomaster  rubbed  his  eyes  in 
amazement.  Then  he  laughed  loud  and  heartily  to 
think  how  Manka  had  outwitted  him. 

"  Manka,"  he  said,  "  you're  too  clever  for  me. 
Come  on,  my  dear,  let's  go  home." 

So  they  climbed  back  into  the  wagon  and  drove 
home. 

The  burgomaster  never  again  scolded  his  wife  but 
thereafter  whenever  a  very  difficult  case  came  up  he 
always  said: 

"  I  think  we  had  better  consult  my  wife.  You  know 
she's  a  very  clever  woman." 


THE  BLACKSMITH'S  STOOL 

THE   STORY   OF   A   MAN    WHO   FOUND 
THAT  DEATH  WAS  NECESSARY 


THE  BLACKSMITH'S  STOOL 

ALONG  time  ago  when  Lord  Jesus  and  the 
blessed  St.  Peter  walked  about  together  on 
earth,  it  happened  one  evening  that  they  stopped  at 
a  blacksmith's  cottage  and  asked  for  a  night's  lodging. 

"  You  are  welcome,"  the  blacksmith  said.  "  I  am 
a  poor  man  but  whatever  I  have  I  will  gladly  share 
with  you." 

He  threw  down  his  hammer  and  led  his  guests  into 
the  kitchen.  There  he  entertained  them  with  a  good 
supper  and  after  they  had  eaten  he  said  to  them: 

"  I  see  that  you  are  tired  from  your  day's  journey. 
There  is  my  bed.  Lie  down  on  it  and  sleep  until  morn- 
ing." 

"And  where  will  you   sleep?"   St.   Peter   asked. 

"  I?  Don't  think  of  me,"  the  blacksmith  said.  "  I'll 
go  out  to  the  barn  and  sleep  on  the  straw." 

The  next  morning  he  gave  his  guests  a  fine  break- 
fast, and  then  sent  them  on  their  way  with  good  wishes 
for  their  journey. 

As  they  were  leaving,  St.  Peter  plucked  Lord 
Jesus  by  the  sleeve  and  whispered: 

179 


180  THE  BLACKSMITH'S  STOOL 

"  Master,  aren't  you  going  to  reward  this  man?  He 
is  poor  but  yet  has  treated  us  most  hospitably." 

Lord  Jesus  answered  Peter: 

"  The  reward  of  this  world  is  an  empty  reward.  I 
was  thinking  to  prepare  him  a  place  in  heaven.  How- 
ever, I  will  grant  him  something  now." 

Then  he  turned  to  the  blacksmith  and  said: 

"  Ask  what  you  will.  Make  three  wishes  and  they 
will  be  fulfilled." 

The  blacksmith  was  overjoyed.  For  his  first  wish 
he  said: 

"  I  should  like  to  live  for  a  hundred  years  and  always 
be  as  strong  and  healthy  as  I  am  this  moment." 

Lord  Jesus  said: 

"  Very  well,  that  will  be  granted  you.  What  is  your 
second  wish? " 

The  blacksmith  thought  for  a  moment.  Then  he 
said: 

"  I  wish  that  I  may  prosper  in  this  world  and  always 
have  as  much  as  I  need.  May  work  in  my  shop 
always  be  as  plentiful  as  it  is  today." 

"  This,  too,  will  be  granted  you,"  Lord  Jesus  said. 
"Now  for  your  third  wish." 

Our  blacksmith  thought  and  thought,  unable  at 
first  to  decide  on  a  third  wish.  At  last  he  said: 


THE  BLACKSMITH'S  STOOL  181 

"  Grant  that  whoever  sits  on  the  stool  where  you 
sat  last  night  at  supper  may  be  unable  to  get  up 
until  I  release  him." 

St.  Peter  laughed  at  this,  but  Lord  Jesus  nodded 
and  said: 

"This   wish,   too,   will   be   fulfilled." 

So  they  parted,  Lord  Jesus  and  blessed  St.  Peter 
going  on  their  way,  and  the  blacksmith  returning  home 
to  his  forge. 

Things  came  to  pass  as  Lord  Jesus  had  promised 
they  should.  Work  in  plenty  flowed  into  the  black- 
smith's shop.  The  years  went  by  but  they  made  no  im- 
pression on  the  blacksmith.  He  was  as  young  as  ever 
and  as  vigorous.  His  friends  grew  old  and  one  by  one 
died.  His  children  grew  up,  married,  and  had  children 
of  their  own.  These  in  turn  grew  up.  The  years 
brought  youth  and  maturity  and  old  age  to  them  all. 
The  blacksmith  alone  remained  unchanged. 

A  hundred  years  is  a  long  time  but  at  last  even  it 
runs  out. 

One  night  as  the  blacksmith  was  putting  away  his 
tools,  there  came  a  knock  at  the  door.  The  blacksmith 
stopped  his  singing  to  call  out: 

"  Who's  there? " 


182  THE  BLACKSMITH'S  STOOL 

"  It  is  I,  Death,"  a  voice  answered.  "  Open  the 
door,  blacksmith.  Your  time  has  come." 

The  blacksmith  threw  open  the  door. 

"  Welcome,"  he  said  to  the  woman  standing  there. 
"  I'll  be  ready  in  a  moment  when  I  put  away  my 
tools."  He  smiled  a  little  to  himself.  "  Won't  you 
sit  down  on  this  stool,  dear  lady,  and  rest  you  for  a 
moment?  You  must  be  weary  going  to  and  fro  over 
the  earth." 

Death,  suspecting  nothing,  seated  herself  on  the 
stool. 

The  blacksmith  burst  into  a  loud  laugh. 

"Now  I  have  you,  my  lady!  Stay  where  you  are 
until  I  release  you! " 

Death  tried  to  stand  up  but  could  not.  She 
squirmed  this  way  and  that.  She  rattled  her  hollow 
bones.  She  gnashed  her  teeth.  But  do  what  she  would 
she  could  not  arise  from  the  stool. 

Chuckling  and  singing,  the  blacksmith  left  her  there 
and  went  about  his  business. 

But  soon  he  found  that  chaining  up  Death  had  un- 
expected results.  To  begin  with,  he  wanted  at  once 
to  celebrate  his  escape  with  a  feast.  He  had  a  hog 
which  had  been  fattening  for  some  time.  He  would 
slaughter  this  hog  and  chop  it  up  into  fine  spicy  sau- 


THE  BLACKSMITH'S  STOOL  183 

sages  which  his  neighbors  and  friends  would  help 
him  eat.  The  hams  he  would  hang  in  the  chimney 
to  smoke. 

But  when  he  tried  to  slaughter  the  animal,  the  blow 
of  his  axe  had  no  effect.  He  struck  the  hog  on  the 
head  and,  to  be  sure,  it  rolled  over  on  the  ground. 
But  when  he  stopped  to  cut  the  throat,  the  creature 
jumped  up  and  with  a  grunt  went  scampering  off. 
Before  the  blacksmith  could  recover  from  his  surprise, 
the  hog  had  disappeared. 

Next  he  tried  to  kill  a  goose.  He  had  a  fat 
one  which  he  had  been  stuffing  for  the  village  fair. 

"  Since  those  sausages  have  escaped  me,"  he  said, 
"  I'll  have  to  be  satisfied  with  roast  goose." 

But  when  he  tried  to  cut  the  goose's  throat,  the 
knife  drew  no  blood.  In  his  surprise  he  loosened  his 
hold  and  the  goose  slipped  from  his  hands  and  went 
cackling  off  after  the  hog. 

"What's  come  over  things  today?"  the  black- 
smith asked  himself.  "  It  seems  I'm  not  to  have 
sausage  or  roast  goose.  I  suppose  I'll  have  to  be 
satisfied  with  a  pair  of  pigeons." 

He  went  out  to  the  pigeon-house  and  caught  two 
pigeons.  He  put  them  on  the  chopping-block  and  with 
one  mighty  blow  of  his  ax  cut  off  both  their  heads. 


184  THE  BLACKSMITH'S  STOOL 

"  There!  "  he  cried  in  triumph.    "  I've  got  youl  " 

But  even  as  he  spoke  the  little  severed  heads  returned 
to  their  bodies,  the  heads  and  bodies  grew  together  as 
if  nothing  had  happened,  and  cooing  happily  the  two 
pigeons  flew  away. 

Then  at  last  the  truth  flashed  upon  the  blacksmith's 
mind.  So  long  as  he  kept  Death  fastened  to  that  stool, 
nothing  could  die!  Of  course  not!  So  no  more  spicy 
sausages,  no  more  smoked  hams,  no  more  roast  goose — 
not  even  a  broiled  -pigeon!  The  prospect  was  not  a 
pleasing  one,  for  the  blacksmith  loved  good  things  to 
eat.  But  what  could  he  do?  Release  Death?  Never 
that!  He  would  be  her  first  victim!  Well  then,  if 
he  could  have  no  fresh  meat,  he  would  have  to  be  con- 
tent to  live  on  peas  and  porridge  and  wheaten  cakes. 

This  actually  was  what  he  had  to  do  and  what  every 
one  else  had  to  do  when  their  old  provisions  were  ex- 
hausted. 

Summer  passed  and  winter  followed.  Then  spring 
came  bringing  new  and  unforeseen  miseries.  With  the 
first  breath  of  warm  weather  all  the  pests  and  insects 
of  the  summer  before  revived,  for  not  one  of  them  had 
been  killed  by  the  winter  cold.  And  the  eggs  they  Had 
laid  all  hatched  out  until  the  earth  and  the  air  and  the 
water  swarmed  with  living  creatures.  Birds  and  rats 


THE  BLACKSMITH'S  STOOL  185 

and  grasshoppers,  insects  and  bugs  and  vermin  of 
every  kind,  covered  the  fields  and  ate  up  every  green 
thing.  The  meadows  looked  as  if  a  fire  had  swept  them 
clean.  The  orchards  were  stripped  bare  of  every  leaf 
and  blossom. 

Such  hords  of  fish  and  frogs  and  water  creatures 
filled  the  lakes  and  the  rivers  that  the  water  was 
polluted  and  it  was  impossible  for  man  to  drink  it. 

Water  and  land  alike  were  swarming  with  living 
creatures  not  one  of  which  could  be  killed.  Even  the 
air  was  thick  with  clouds  of  mosquitoes  and  gnats  and 
flies. 

Men  and  women  walked  about  looking  like  tor- 
mented ghosts.  They  had  no  desire  to  live  on  but  they 
had  to  live  on  for  they  could  not  die. 

The  blacksmith  came  at  last  to  a  realization  of  all 
the  misery  which  his  foolish  wish  was  bringing  upon 
the  world. 

"  I  see  now,"  he  said,  "  that  God  Almighty  did  well 
when  He  sent  Death  to  the  world.  She  has  her  work 
to  do  and  I  am  wrong  to  hold  her  prisoner." 

So  he  released  Death  from  the  stool  and  made  no  out- 
cry when  she  put  her  bony  fingers  to  his  throat. 


A  GULLIBLE  WORLD 

THE  STOEY  OF  A  MAN  WHO  DIDN'T  BEAT  HIS  WIFE 


A  GULLIBLE  WORLD 

THERE  was  once  a  poor  farm  laborer,  so  poor 
that  all  he  owned  in  the  world  was  a  hen.  He 
told  his  wife  to  take  this  hen  to  market  and  sell  it. 

"  How  much  shall  I  ask  for  it? "  the  woman  wanted 
to  know. 

"  Ask  as  much  as  they'll  pay,  of  course,"  the 
laborer  said. 

So  the  woman  took  the  hen  by  the  feet  and  set  out. 
Near  the  village  she  met  a  farmer. 

"  Good  day,"  the  farmer  said.  "  Where  are  you 
going  with  that  hen?  " 

"  I'm  going  to  market  to  sell  it  for  as  much 
as  they'll  pay  me." 

The  farmer  weighed  the  hen  in  his  hand,  pursed  his 
lips,  thought  a  moment,  and  said: 

"  You  better  sell  it  to  me.  I'll  pay  you  three 
pennies  for  it." 

"  Three  pennies?  Are  you  sure  that's  as  much  as 
you'll  pay?" 

"  Yes,"  the  farmer  said,  "  three  pennies  is  as  much 
as  I'll  pay." 

189 


190  A  GULLIBLE  WORLD 

So  the  laborer's  wife  sold  the  hen  for  three  pennies. 
She  went  on  to  the  village  and  there  she  bought  a  pretty 
little  paper  bag  with  one  of  the  pennies  and  a  piece 
of  ribbon  with  another  penny.  She  put  the  third 
penny  into  the  bag,  tied  the  bag  with  the  ribbon,  slipped 
the  ribbon  on  a  stick,  put  the  stick  over  her  shoulder, 
and  then,  feeling  that  she  had  done  a  very  good  day's 
work,  she  tramped  home  to  her  husband. 

When  the  laborer  heard  how  stupidly  his  wife  had 
acted,  he  flew  into  a  great  rage  and  at  first  threatened 
to  give  her  a  sound  beating. 

"Was  there  ever  such  a  foolish  woman  in  the 
world  ? "  he  shouted  angrily. 

The  poor  woman,  who  by  this  time  was  snuffling 
and  weeping,  whimpered  out: 

"  I  don't  see  why  you  find  so  much  fault  with  me ! 
I'm  sure  I'm  not  the  only  gullible  person  in  the 
world." 

"  Well,"  the  laborer  said,  "  I  don't  know.  Perhaps 
there  are  people  in  the  world  as  gullible  as  you.  I 
tell  you  what  I'll  do:  I'll  go  out  and  see  if  I  can 
find  them.  If  I  do,  I  won't  beat  you." 

So  the  laborer  went  out  into  the  world  to  see  if  he 
could  find  any  one  as  gullible  as  his  wife.  He 
traveled  several  days  until  he  reached  a  countryside 


A  GULLIBLE  WORLD  191 

where  he  was  unknown.  Here  he  came  to  a  fine 
castle  at  the  window  of  which  stood  the  lady  of  the 
castle  looking  out. 

"  Now  then,  my  lady,"  the  lahorer  said  to  him- 
self, "  we'll  see  how  gullible  you  are." 

He  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  looked  intently 
up  at  the  sky,  and  then  reaching  out  his  arms  as  if  he 
were  trying  to  catch  hold  of  something  he  began  jump- 
ing up  and  down. 

The  lady  of  the  castle  watched  him  for  a  few 
moments  and  then  dispatched  one  of  her  servants 
to  ask  him  what  he  was  doing.  The  servant  hurried 
out  and  questioned  him  and  this  is  the  story  the  clever 
rascal  made  up: 

"  I'm  trying  to  jump  back  into  heaven.  You  see  I 
live  up  there.  I  was  wrestling  up  there  with  one  of 
my  comrades  and  he  pitched  me  out  and  now  I  can't 
find  the  hole  I  fell  through." 

With  his  eyes  popping  out  of  his  head,  the  servant 
hurried  back  to  his  mistress  and  repeated  the  laborer's 
story  word  for  word. 

The  lady  of  the  castle  instantly  sent  for  the  laborer. 

"You  say  you  were  in  heaven?"  she  asked  him. 

"Yes,  my  lady,  that's  where  I  live  and  I'm  going 
back  at  once." 


192  A  GULLIBLE  WORLD 

"  I  have  a  dear  son  in  heaven,"  the  lady  said.  "  Do 
you  know  him? " 

"  Of  course  I  know  him.  The  last  time  I  saw 
him  he  was  sitting  far  back  in  the  chimney  corner 
looking  very  sad  and  lonely." 

"What!  My  son  sitting  far  back  in  the  chimney 
corner!  Poor  boy,  he  must  be  in  need  of  money!  My 
good  man,  will  you  take  him  something  from  me?  I'd 
like  to  send  him  three  hundred  golden  ducats  and 
material  for  six  fine  shirts.  And  tell  him  not  to  be 
lonely  as  I'll  come  to  him  soon." 

The  laborer  was  delighted  at  the  success  of  his  yarn 
and  he  told  the  lady  of  the  castle  he'd  gladly  take  with 
him  the  ducats  and  the  fine  shirting  and  he  asked  her 
to  give  them  to  him  at  once  as  he  had  to  get  back  to 
heaven  without  delay. 

The  foolish  woman  wrapped  up  the  shirting  and 
counted  out  the  money  and  the  laborer  hurried  off. 

Once  out  of  sight  of  the  castle  he  sat  down  by  the 
roadside,  stuffed  the  fine  shirting  into  the  legs  of  his 
trousers,  and  hid  the  ducats  in  his  pockets.  Then  he 
stretched  himself  out  to  rest. 

Meantime  the  lord  of  the  castle  got  home  and  his 
wife  at  once  told  him  the  whole  story  and  asked  him 
if  he  didn't  think  she  was  fortunate  to  find  a  man  who 


A  GULLIBLE  WORLD  193 

had  consented  to  deliver  to  their  son  in  heaven  three 
hundred  golden  ducats  and  material  for  six  fine  shirts. 

"  What!  "  cried  the  husband.  "  Oh,  what  a  gullible 
creature  you  are!  Who  ever  heard  of  a  man  falling 
out  of  heaven!  And  if  he  were  to  fall,  how  could  he 
climb  back?  The  rogue  has  swindled  you!  Which  way 
did  he  go? " 

And  without  waiting  to  hear  the  poor  lady's  lamenta- 
tions, the  nobleman  mounted  his  horse  and  galloped 
off  in  the  direction  the  laborer  had  taken. 

The  laborer,  who  was  still  resting  by  the  wayside, 
saw  him  coming  and  guessed  who  he  was. 

"  Now,  my  lord,  we'll  try  you,"  he  said  to  himself. 

He  took  off  his  broad-trimmed  hat  and  put  it  on 
the  ground  beside  him  over  a  clod  of  earth. 

"  My  good  fellow,"  said  the  nobleman,  "  I  am  look- 
ing for  a  man  with  a  bundle  over  his  shoulder.  Have 
you  seen  him  pass  this  way? " 

The  laborer  scratched  his  head  and  pretended  to 
think. 

"Yes,  master,"  he  said,  "seems  to  me  I  did  see  a 
man  with  a  bundle.  He  was  running  over  there 
towards  the  woods  and  looking  back  all  the  time.  He 
was  a  stranger  to  these  parts.  I  remember  now  think- 
ing to  myself  that  he  looked  like  one  of  those  rogues 


194  A  GULLIBLE  WORLD 

that  come  from  big  cities  to  swindle  honest  country 
folk.  Yes,  master,  that's  the  way  he  went,  over  there." 

The  laborer  seemed  such  an  honest  simple  fellow 
that  at  once  the  nobleman  told  him  how  the  stranger 
had  swindled  his  wife. 

"  Oh,  the  rogue!  "  the  laborer  cried.  "  To  think  of 
his  swindling  such  a  fine  lady,  too!  Master,  I  wish 
I  could  help  you.  I'd  take  that  horse  of  yours  and 
go  after  him  myself  if  I  could.  But  I  can't.  I'm 
carrying  a  bird  of  great  value  to  a  gentleman  who  lives 
in  the  next  down.  I  have  the  bird  here  under  my  hat 
and  I  daren't  leave  it." 

The  nobleman  thought  that  as  the  laborer  had  seen 
the  swindler  he  might  be  able  to  catch  him.  So  he  said: 

"  My  good  man,  if  I  sat  here  and  guarded  your  hat, 
would  you  be  willing  to  mount  my  horse  and  follow 
that  rascal?" 

"  Indeed  I  would,  my  lord,  in  a  minute,  for  I  can't 
bear  to  think  of  that  rogue  swindling  such  a  fine  lady 
as  your  wife.  But  I  must  beg  you  to  be  very  careful 
of  this  bird.  Don't  put  your  hand  under  my  hat  or 
it  might  escape  and  then  I  should  have  to  bear  the  loss 
of  it." 

The  nobleman  promised  to  be  most  careful  of  the 
bird  and,  dismounting,  he  handed  his  bridle  to  the 


A  GULLIBLE  WORLD  195 

laborer.  That  one  mounted  the  nobleman's  horse  and 
galloped  off. 

It  is  needless  to  say  the  nobleman  never  saw  either 
man  or  horse  again.  He  waited  and  waited.  At 
last  when  he  could  wait  no  longer  he  decided  that  he 
would  have  to  take  the  bird  home  with  him  and  let  the 
laborer  follow.  So  he  lifted  the  edge  of  the  hat  very 
carefully,  slipped  in  his  hand,  and  clutched — the 
dry  clod  of  earth ! 

Deeply  chagrined  he  went  home  and  had  to  bear  the 
smiles  of  his  people  as  they  whispered  among  them- 
selves that  my  lord  as  well  as  my  lady  had  been 
swindled. 

The  laborer  as  he  neared  his  cottage  called  out  to 
his  wife: 

"It's  all  right,  wife!  You  won't  get  that  beating! 
I  find  that  the  world  is  full  of  people  even  more 
gullible  than  you !  " 


THE  CANDLES  OF  LIFE 

THE   STORY    OF  A   CHILD   FOR    WHOM 
DEATH    STOOD    GODMOTHER 


THE  CANDLES  OF  LIFE 

TiHERE  was  once  a  poor  man  named  Martin. 
He  was  so  very  poor  that  when  his  wife  gave 
birth  to  a  little  boy,  he  could  find  no  one  who  would 
stand  godmother  to  the  child. 

"  No,"  he  told  his  wife,  "  there's  no  one  that  I've 
asked  who  is  willing  to  hold  this  infant  at  the  christen- 
ing." 

The  poor  mother  wept  and  moaned  and  he  tried 
to  comfort  her  as  best  he  could. 

"Don't  be  discouraged,  my  dear  wife.  I  promise 
you  your  son  will  be  christened.  I'll  carry  him  to 
church  myself  and  if  I  can  find  a  godmother  no  other 
way  I'll  ask  some  woman  I  meet  on  the  road." 

So  Martin  bundled  up  the  baby  and  carried  him  to 
church.  On  the  way  he  met  a  woman  whom  he  asked 
to  be  godmother.  She  took  the  baby  in  her  arms  at 
once  and  held  it  during  the  christening. 

Now  Martin  supposed  that  she  was  just  an  ordinary 
woman  like  any  other.  But  she  wasn't.  She  was 
Death  who  walks  about  among  men  and  takes  them 
when  their  time  has  come. 

After  the  christening  she  invited  Martin  home  with 

199 


200  THE  CANDLES  OF  LIFE 

her.  She  showed  him  through  the  various  rooms  of 
her  house  and  down  into  great  cellars.  They  went 
a  long  way  underground  through  cellar  after  cellar  to 
a  place  where  thousands  upon  thousands  of  candles 
were  burning.  There  were  tall  candles  just  lighted, 
candles  burned  halfway  down,  and  little  short  ones 
nearly  burned  out.  At  one  end  of  the  place  there  was 
a  heap  of  fresh  candles  that  had  not  yet  been  lighted. 

"These,"  Death  said,  "are  the  candles  of  all  the 
people  in  the  world.  When  a  man's  candle  burns  out, 
then  it  is  time  for  me  to  go  for  him." 

"  Godmother,"  Martin  said,  pointing  to  a  candle  that 
was  burning  low,  "whose  may  that  be?" 

"  That,  my  friend,  is  your  candle." 

Martin  was  frightened  and  begged  Death  to  lengthen 
his  candle,  but  Death  shook  her  head. 

"  No,  my  friend,"  she  said,  "  I  can't  do  that." 

She  reached  for  a  fresh  candle  to  light  it  for  the 
baby  just  christened.  While  her  back  was  turned, 
Martin  snatched  a  tall  candle,  lighted  it,  and  then 
pressed  it  on  the  stub  of  his  own  candle  that  was 
nearly  burned  out. 

When  Death  turned  and  saw  what  he  had  done,  she 
frowned  reprovingly. 

"  That,  my  friend,  was  an  unworthy  trick.    However, 


THE  CANDLES  OF  LIFE  201 

it  has  lengthened  your  life,  for  what  is  done  is  done 
and  can't  be  undone." 

Then  she  handed  Martin  some  golden  ducats  as  a 
christening  present,  took  the  baby  again  in  her  arms, 
and  said: 

"  Now  let  us  go  home  and  give  this  young  man  back 
to  his  mother." 

At  the  cottage  she  made  the  sick  woman  comfortable 
and  talked  to  her  about  her  son.  Martin  went  out  to 
the  tavern  and  bought  a  jug  of  ale.  Then  he  spread 
the  table  with  food,  the  best  he  could  afford,  and  God- 
mother Death  sat  down  on  the  bench  and  they  ate 
and  drank  together. 

"Martin,"  she  said  to  him  at  last,  "you  are  very 
poor  and  I  must  do  something  for  you.  I  tell  you 
what  I'll  do:  I'll  make  you  into  a  great  physician.  I 
will  spread  sickness  in  the  world  and  you  will  cure  it. 
Your  fame  will  go  abroad  and  people  will  send  for 
you  and  pay  you  handsomely.  This  is  how  we'll  work 
together:  when  you  hear  of  a  person  taken  sick,  go 
to  his  house  and  offer  to  cure  him.  I  will  be  there 
invisible  to  every  one  but  you.  If  I  stand  at  the 
foot  of  the  sick  man's  bed,  you  will  know  that  he's  going 
to  get  well.  So  then  you  can  prescribe  salves  and 
medicines,  and  when  he  recovers  he'll  think  you  have 


202  THE  CANDLES  OF  LIFE 

cured  him.  But  if  I  stand  at  the  head  of  the  sick 
man's  bed,  you  will  know  that  he  has  to  die.  In  that 
case  you  must  look  grave  and  say  that  he  is  beyond 
help.  When  he  dies  people  will  say  how  wise  you  were 
to  know  beforehand." 

She  gave  him  further  instructions  and  then,  after 
bidding  her  godchild  and  its  mother  a  kind  farewell, 
she  left. 

Time  went  by  and  Martin's  fame  as  a  great  physician 
spread  far  and  wide.  Wherever  Godmother  Death 
caused  sickness,  there  Martin  went  and  made  mar- 
velous cures.  Dukes  and  princes  heard  of  him  and 
sent  for  him.  When  he  rubbed  them  with  salve  or 
gave  them  a  dose  or  two  of  bitter  medicine  and  they 
recovered,  they  felt  so  grateful  to  him  that  they  gave 
him  anything  he  asked  and  often  more  than  he  asked. 

He  always  remembered  Death's  warning  not  to  treat 
a  sick  man  if  she  stood  at  his  head.  Once,  however, 
he  disobeyed.  He  was  called  to  prescribe  to  a  duke  of 
enormous  wealth.  When  he  entered  the  room  he  saw 
Death  standing  at  the  duke's  head. 

"  Can  you  cure  him?  "  they  asked  Martin. 

"  I  can't  promise,"  Martin  said,  "  but  I'll  do  what 
I  can." 

He  had  the  servants  turn  the  duke's  bed  around 


THE  CANDLES  OF  LIFE  203 

until  the  foot  instead  of  the  head  was  in  front  of 
Death.  The  duke  recovered  and  rewarded  Martin 
richly. 

But  Death  when  next  she  met  Martin  reproved  him: 

"  My  friend,  don't  try  that  trick  on  me  again.  Be- 
sides, it  is  not  a  real  cure.  The  duke's  time  has  come; 
he  must  go  to  his  appointed  place;  and  it  is  my  duty 
to  conduct  him  thither.  You  think  you  have  saved 
him  from  me  and  he  thinks  so,  but  you  are  both 
mistaken.  All  you  have  given  him  is  a  moment's 
respite." 

The  years  went  by  and  Martin  grew  old.  His  hair 
whitened  and  his  muscles  stiffened.  The  infirmities 
of  age  came  upon  him  and  life  was  no  longer  a  joy. 

"  Dear  Godmother  Death,"  he  cried,  "  I  am  old  and 
tired!  Take  me!" 

But  Death  shook  her  head. 

"  No,  my  friend,  I  can't  take  you  yet.  You 
lengthened  the  candle  of  your  life  and  now  you  must 
wait  until  it  burns  down." 

At  last  one  day  as  he  was  riding  home  after  visiting 
a  sick  man,  Death  climbed  into  the  carriage  with  him. 
She  talked  with  him  of  old  times  and  they  laughed 
together.  Then  jokingly  she  brushed  his  chin  with  a 
green  branch.  Instantly  Martin's  eyes  grew  heavy. 


204.  THE  CANDLES  OF  LIFE 

His  head  slipped  lower  and  lower  and  soon  he  fell 
asleep  on  Death's  lap. 

"  He's  dead,"  the  people  said,  when  they  looked  in 
the  carriage.  "The  famous  Doctor  Martin  is  dead! 
Oh,  what  a  great  and  good  man  he  was!  Alas,  who 
can  take  his  place ! " 

He  was  buried  with  great  pomp  and  all  the  world 
mourned  his  death. 

His  son,  whose  name  was  Josef,  was  a  stupid  fellow. 
One  day  as  he  was  going  to  church,  his  godmother 
met  him. 

"Well,  Josef,"  she  asked,  "how  are  you  getting 
on?" 

"  Oh,  pretty  well,  thank  you.  I  can  live  along  for 
a  while  on  what  my  father  saved.  When  that's  gone, 
I  don't  know  what  I'll  do." 

"Tut!  Tut!  "said  Death.  "  That's  no  way  to  talk. 
If  you  only  knew  it,  I'm  your  godmother  who  held 
you  at  your  christening.  I  helped  your  father  to 
wealth  and  fame  and  now  I'll  help  you.  I  tell  you 
what  I'll  do:  I'll  apprentice  you  to  a  successful  doctor 
and  I'll  see  to  it  that  soon  you'll  know  more  than 
he  knows." 

Death  rubbed  some  salve  over  Josef's  ears  and  led 
him  to  a  doctor. 


THE  CANDLES  OF  LIFE  205 

"  1^  wish  you  to  take  this  youth  as  an  apprentice," 
she  said.  "  He's  a  likely  lad  and  will  do  you  credit. 
Teach  him  all  you  know." 

The  doctor  accepted  Josef  as  an  apprentice  and 
when  he  went  out  into  the  fields  to  gather  herbs  and 
simples,  he  took  the  youth  with  him. 

Now  the  magic  salve  with  which  Godmother  Death 
had  anointed  Josef  enabled  him  to  hear  and  understand 
the  whisperings  of  the  herbs.  Each  one  as  he  picked 
it,  whispered  to  him  its  secret  properties. 

"  I  cure  a  fever,"  one  whispered. 

"  And  I  a  rash." 

"  And  I  a  boil." 

The  doctor  was  amazed  at  his  apprentice's  knowl- 
edge of  herbs. 

"  You  know  them  better  than  I  do,"  he  said.  "  You 
never  make  a  mistake.  It  is  I  should  be  apprentice, 
not  you.  Let  us  go  into  partnership.  I  will  work' 
under  you  and  together  we  will  make  wonderful  cures." 

And  so,  owing  to  his  godmother's  gift,  Josef  became 
a  great  physician  of  whom  it  was  said  that  there  was 
no  illness  for  which  he  could  not  find  a  remedial  herb. 

He  lived  long  and  happily  until  at  last  his  candle 
burned  down  and  Death,  his  kind  godmother,  took  him. 


THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

THE  STORY  OF  A  MAN  WHOM  THE  DEVIL  BEFRIENDED 


THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

THERE  were  once  two  men,  a  shoemaker  and 
a  farmer,  who  had  been  close  friends  in  youth. 
The  shoemaker  married  and  had  many  children  to 
whom  the  farmer  stood  godfather.  For  this  reason 
the  two  men  called  each  other  "  Godfather."  When 
they  met  it  was  "  Godfather,  this,"  and  "  Godfather, 
that."  The  shoemaker  was  an  industrious  little  man 
and  yet  with  so  many  mouths  to  fill  he  remained  poor. 
The  farmer  on  the  other  hand  soon  grew  rich  for  he 
had  no  children  to  eat  into  his  savings. 

Years  went  by  and  money  and  possessions  began  to 
change  the  farmer's  disposition.  The  more  he  accumu- 
lated, the  more  he  wanted,  until  people  were  whisper- 
ing behind  his  back  that  he  was  miserly  and  avaricious. 
His  wife  was  like  him.  She,  too,  saved  and  skimped 
although,  as  I  have  told  you,  they  had  neither  chick 
nor  child  to  provide  for. 

The  richer  the  farmer  grew,  the  less  he  cared  for 
his  poor  friend  and  his  poor  friend's  children.  Now 
when  they  called  him  "  Godfather,"  he  frowned  im- 
patiently, and  whenever  he  saw  any  of  them  he  pre- 
209 


210  THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

tended  to  be  very  busy  for  fear  they  should  ask  him 
a  favor. 

One  day  when  he  had  slaughtered  beef,  the  poor  shoe- 
maker came  to  him  and  said: 

"  My  dear  Godfather,  you  have  just  made  a 
killing.  Won't  you  please  give  me  a  little  piece  of 
meat?  My  wife  and  children  are  hungry." 

"  No!  "  roared  the  rich  man.  "  Why  should  I  feed 
your  family?  You  ought  to  save  as  I  do  and  then 
you  wouldn't  have  to  ask  favors  of  any  one." 

Humiliated  by  the  refusal,  the  shoemaker  went  home 
and  told  his  wife  what  his  friend  had  said. 

"  Go  back  to  him,"  his  wife  insisted,  "  and  tell  him 
again  that  his  godchildren  are  hungry.  I  don't  think 
he  understood  you." 

So  the  poor  little  shoemaker  returned  to  the  rich 
man.  He  cleared  his  throat  apologetically  and 
stammered : 

"Dear  Godfather,  you — you  don't  want  your  poor 
godchildren  to  go  hungry,  do  you?  Give  me  just  one 
small  piece  of  meat — that's  all  I  ask." 

In  a  rage,  the  rich  man  picked  up  a  hunk  of  meat 
and  threw  it  at  his  poor  friend. 

"  There !  "  he  shouted.  "  And  now  go  to  hell,  you 
and  the  meat  with  you,  and  tell  the  Devil  I  sent  you." 


THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS  211 

The  shoemaker  picked  up  the  piece  of  meat.  It  was 
all  fat  and  gristle. 

"  No  use  carrying  this  home,"  he  thought  to  him- 
self. "  I  think  I  better  do  as  Godfather  says.  Yes, 
I'll  go  to  hell  and  give  it  to  the  Devil." 

So  he  tramped  down  to  hell  and  presented  him- 
self at  the  gate.  The  little  devil  who  stood  on 
guard  greeted  him  merrily. 

"Hello,  shoemaker!    What  do  you  want  here?" 

"  I  have  a  present  for  the  Devil,  a  piece  of  meat 
that  Godfather  gave  me." 

The  little  devil  of  a  guard  nodded  his  head  under- 
standingly. 

"  I  see,  I  see.  Very  well  then,  come  with  me  and 
I'll  lead  you  to  Prince  Lucifer.  But  I'll  give  you  a 
bit  of  advice  first.  When  the  Prince  asks  you  what 
present  you'd  like  in  return,  tell  him  you'd  like  the 
tablecloth  off  his  own  table." 

The  little  devil  of  a  guard  then  conducted  the 
shoemaker  into  Prince  Lucifer's  presence  and  the 
Prince  received  him  with  every  mark  of  consideration. 
The  shoemaker  told  him  what  Godfather  had  said  and 
presented  him  the  hunk  of  meat.  Lucifer  received  it 
most  graciously.  Then  he  said: 

"Now,  my  dear  shoemaker,   let  me  make  you  a 


212  THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

little  present  in  return.  Do  you  see  anything  here 
that  you'd  like?" 

"  If  it  pleases  your  Highness,"  the  shoemaker  said, 
"  give  me  that  cloth  that  is  spread  over  your  table." 

Lucifer  at  once  handed  him  the  cloth  and  dismissed 
him  with  many  wishes  for  a  pleasant  journey  back  to 
earth. 

As  the  shoemaker  was  leaving  the  friendly  little 
devil  of  a  guard  said  to  him: 

"  I  just  want  to  tell  you  that's  no  ordinary  table- 
cloth that  the  Prince  has  given  you.  No,  indeed! 
Whenever  you're  hungry,  all  you've  got  to  do  is 
spread  out  that  cloth  and  say:  'Meat  and  drink  for 
one ! '  or,  for  as  many  as  you  want,  and  instantly 
you  will  have  what  you  ask." 

Overjoyed  at  his  good  fortune  the  little  shoe- 
maker hurried  back  to  earth.  As  night  came  on  he 
stopped  at  a  tavern.  He  thought  this  was  a  good  place 
to  try  the  tablecloth.  So  he  took  it  out  of  his  bag, 
spread  it  over  the  table,  and  said: 

"Meat  and  drink  for  one!" 

Instantly  a  fine  supper  appeared  and  the  shoe- 
maker ate  and  drank  his  fill. 

Now  the  landlord  of  the  tavern  was  an  evil,  covetous 
fellow  and  when  he  saw  how  the  tablecloth  worked  his 


THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS  213 

fingers  itched  to  own  it.  He  called  his  wife  aside  and 
told  her  in  guarded  whispers  what  he  had  seen. 

Her  eyes,  too,  filled  with  greed. 

"  Husband,"  she  whispered  back,  "  we've  got  to  get 
possession  of  that  tablecloth!  Think  what  a  help  it 
would  be  to  us  in  our  business!  I  tell  you  what 
we'll  do:  tonight  when  the  shoemaker  is  asleep  we'll 
steal  his  tablecloth  and  slip  in  one  of  our  own  in 
its  place.  He's  a  simple  fellow  and  will  never  know 
the  difference." 

So  that  night  while  the  shoemaker  was  asleep, 
they  tip -toed  in,  stole  the  magic  tablecloth  out  of  the 
bag,  and  substituted  one  of  their  own. 

The  next  morning  when  the  shoemaker  awoke  and 
spread  out  the  cloth  which  he  found  in  his  bag  and 
said:  "Meat  and  drink  for  one!"  of  course  nothing 
happened. 

"That's  strange,"  he  thought  to  himself.  "I'll 
have  to  take  this  back  to  the  Devil  and  ask  him  to 
give  me  something  else." 

So  instead  of  going  home  he  went  back  to  hell  and 
knocked  at  the  gate. 

"  Hello,  shoemaker! "  the  little  devil  of  a  guard 
said.  "  What  do  you  want  now?  " 

"Well,  you  see  it's  this  way,"  the  shoemaker  ex- 


214  THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

plained:  "  this  tablecloth  of  the  Devil's  worked  all  right 
last  night  but  it  doesn't  work  this  morning." 

The  little  devil  grinned. 

"  Oh,  I  see.  And  you  want  Prince  Lucifer  to  take 
it  back  and  give  you  something  else,  eh?  Well,  I'm 
sure  he  will.  If  you  want  my  advice,  I  should  say  to 
ask  him  for  that  red  rooster  that  sits  in  the  chimney 
corner." 

The  Prince  received  the  shoemaker  as  kindly  as 
before  and  was  perfectly  willing  to  exchange  the 
tablecloth  for  the  red  rooster. 

When  the  shoemaker  got  back  to  the  gate,  the 
little  devil  of  a  guard  said: 

"  I  see  you've  got  the  red  rooster.  Now  I  just 
want  to  tell  you  that's  no  ordinary  rooster.  Whenever 
you  need  money,  all  you  have  to  do  is  put  that  rooster 
on  the  table  and  say :  *  Crow,  rooster,  crow ! '  He'll 
crow  and  as  he  crows  a  golden  ducat  will  drop  from 
his  bill!" 

"  What  a  lucky  fellow  I  am ! "  the  little  shoemaker 
thought  to  himself  as  he  hurried  back  to  earth. 

As  night  came  on  he  stopped  again  at  the  same 
tavern  and,  when  it  was  time  to  pay  for  his  supper, 
he  put  the  red  rooster  on  the  table  and  said: 

"  Crow,  rooster,  crow ! " 


THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS  215 

The  rooster  crowed  and  sure  enough  a  golden  ducat 
dropped  from  his  bill. 

The  covetous  landlord  licked  his  greedy  lips  and 
hurried  off  to  his  wife. 

"We've  got  a  red  rooster,"  the  wife  said.  "Ill 
tell  you  what  we'll  do:  when  the  shoemaker's  asleep 
we'll  trade  roosters.  He's  a  simple  fellow  and  will 
never  know  the  difference." 

So  the  next  morning  after  breakfast,  when  the 
shoemaker  put  what  he  thought  was  his  own  rooster 
on  the  table  and  said:  "Crow,  rooster,  crow!"  of 
course  nothing  happened. 

"  I  wonder  what's  the  matter  with  you,"  he  said  to 
the  rooster.  "  I'll  have  to  take  you  back  to  the  Devil." 

So  again  he  tramped  down  to  hell  and  explained  to 
the  little  devil  of  a  guard  that  the  rooster  no  longer 
dropped  golden  ducats  from  his  bill. 

The  little  devil  listened  and  grinned. 

"  I  suppose  you  want  Prince  Lucifer  to  give  you 
something  else,  eh? " 

The  shoemaker  nodded. 

"I'm  sure  he  will,"  the  little  devil  said.  "He 
seems  to  have  taken  quite  a  fancy  to  you.  Now  take 
my  advice  and  ask  him  for  the  pair  of  clubs  that 
are  lying  under  the  oven." 


216  THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

So  the  shoemaker  when,  he  was  led  again  into 
Lucifer's  presence  explained  to  the  Prince  that  the 
red  rooster  no  longer  worked  and  please  would  His 
Highness  give  him  something  else  instead. 

The  Prince  was  most  affable. 

"Certainly,"  he  said. 

"Well  then,  Your  Highness,  I'd  like  that  pair  of 
clubs  I  see  under  the  oven." 

Lucifer  gave  him  the  clubs  and  wished  him  a 
pleasant  journey  home. 

When  the  shoemaker  got  back  to  the  gate,  the  little 
devil  of  a  guard  wagged  his  head  and  blinked  his 
eyes. 

"  Shoemaker,"  he  said,  "those  are  fine  clubs!  You 
don't  know  how  fine  they  are!  Why,  they'll  do  any- 
thing you  tell  them!  If  you  point  to  a  man  and  say  to 
them:  'Tickle  that  fellow!'  they'll  jump  about  and 
tickle  him  under  the  ribs.  If  you  say:  '  Strike  that 
fellow ! '  they'll  hit  him.  And  if  you  say :  '  Beat  him ! ' 
they'll  give  him  a  terrible  drubbing.  Now  I  want  you 
to  try  these  clubs  on  that  landlord  and  his  wife  for 
they  have  been  playing  tricks  on  you.  They  stole  your 
tablecloth  and  your  rooster.  When  you  reach  the 
tavern  tonight,  they'll  be  entertaining  a  wedding 
party  and  they'll  say  they  haven't  any  room  for 
you.  Don't  argue  but  quietly  take  out  your  clubs 


THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS  217 

and  order  them  to  knock  about  among  the  wedding 
guests.  Then  order  them  to  beat  the  landlord  and  his 
wife  and  those  two  will  soon  cry  for  mercy  and  be 
more  than  willing  to  return  you  your  property." 

The  shoemaker  thanked  the  little  devil  of  a  guard 
for  his  good  advice  and,  putting  the  clubs  in  his  bag, 
climbed  back  to  earth.  When  he  reached  the  tavern, 
sure  enough  he  found  a  wedding  party  feasting  and 
dancing. 

"Get  out  of  here!"  the  landlord  cried.  "There's 
no  room  for  you ! " 

Without  a  word  the  shoemaker  took  out  his  clubs  and 
said: 

"  Clubs,  knock  around  among  the  wedding  guests ! " 

Instantly  the  two  clubs  went  knocking  about  among 
the  wedding  guests,  tickling  some  and  throwing  down 
others,  until  the  place  was  in  an  uproar. 

"  Now  beat  the  landlord  and  his  wife! "  the  shoe- 
maker cried. 

At  that  the  clubs  hopped  over  to  the  landlord  and 
his  wife  and  began  beating  them  over  the  head  and 
shoulders  until  they  both  dropped  on  their  knees  before 
the  shoemaker  and  begged  for  mercy. 

"  Are  you  ready  to  give  me  back  my  tablecloth  and 
rooster? "  the  shoemaker  asked. 


218  THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

"  Yes,  yes!  "  they  cried.  "  Only  call  off  your  clubs 
and  we'll  give  you  back  your  tablecloth  and  rooster — 
we  swear  we  will!" 

When  he  thought  he  had  punished  them  enough,  the 
shoemaker  ordered  the  clubs  to  stop  and  the  landlord 
and  his  wife  tottered  off  as  fast  as  their  trembling 
legs  could  carry  them.  Presently  they  returned  with 
the  tablecloth  and  the  rooster. 

So  the  shoemaker,  when  he  got  home,  had  all  three 
of  the  Devil's  presents  tucked  safely  away  in  his  bag. 

"Now,  wife!"  he  cried.  "Now,  children!  Now 
we  are  going  to  have  a  feast!  " 

He  spread  out  the  tablecloth  and  said: 

"Meat  and  drink  for  ten!" 

Instantly  such  a  feast  appeared  that  for  a  moment 
the  poor  wife  and  the  hungry  children  couldn't  believe 
their  eyes.  Then  they  set  to,  and,  oh!  I  can't  begin  to 
tell  you  all  they  ate! 

When  they  could  eat  no  more,  the  shoemaker  said: 

"  That  isn't  all.    I've  got  something  else  in  my  bag." 

He  took  out  the  clubs  and  said: 

"Clubs,  tickle  the  children!" 

Instantly  the  clubs  hopped  around  among  the 
children  and  tickled  them  under  the  ribs  until  they 
were  all  roaring  with  laughter. 


>  "^ 

THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

"And  that  isn't  all!"  the  shoemaker  stfr^^ve 
got  something  else  in  my  bag." 

He  pulled  out  the  red  rooster,  put  him  on  the 
table,  and  said: 

"Crow,  rooster,  crow!" 

The  rooster  crowed  and  a  golden  ducat  dropped 
from  his  bill. 

"Oh!"  the  children  cried,  and  the  youngest  one 
begged:  "Make  him  do  it  again!  Make  him  do  it 
again ! " 

So  again  the  shoemaker  said:  "Crow,  rooster, 
crow ! "  and  again  a  golden  ducat  dropped  from  the 
rooster's  bill. 

The  children  were  so  amused  that  the  shoemaker 

kept  the  rooster  crowing  all  night  long  until  the  room 

-was  overflowing  with  a  great  heap  of  shining  ducats. 

The  next  day  the  shoemaker  said  to  his  wife: 

"  We  must  measure  our  money  and  see  how  much 
we  have.  Send  one  of  the  children  over  to  Godfather 
to  borrow  a  bushel  measure." 

So  the  youngest  child  ran  over  to  the  rich  man's 
house  and  said: 

"  Godfather,  my  father  says  will  you  please  lend 
us  a  bushel  measure  to  measure  our  money." 

"Measure  your  money!"   the   rich  man   growled. 


220  THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

"Pooh,  pooh,  what  nonsense!  Wife,  where's  that  old 
wornout  measure  that  we're  going  to  throw  away? 
It's  the  very  thing  to  lend  these  beggars." 

The  woman  who  was  just  as  disagreeable  as  the 
man  handed  the  child  an  old  broken  measure  and 
said,  severely: 

"See  you  bring  it  back  at  once!" 

In  a  short  time  the  little  girl  returned  the  measure. 

"Thanks,  Godfather,"  she  said.  "We've  got  a 
hundred  bushels." 

"A  hundred  bushels!"  the  farmer  repeated  scorn- 
fully after  the  child  was  gone.  "  A  hundred  bushels 
of  what?  Look  inside  the  measure,  wife,  and  see  if  you 
find  a  trace  of  anything." 

The  woman  peered  inside  the  measure  and  found  a 
golden  ducat  lodged  in  a  slit.  She  took  it  out  and 
the  mere  sight  of  it  made  her  face  and  her  husband's 
face  turn  sick  and  pale  with  envy. 

"Do  you  suppose  those  beggars  really  have  got 
some  money?"  he  said.  "We  better  go  over  at  once 
and  see." 

So  they  hurried  over  to  the  shoemaker's  cottage  and 
they  shook  hands  with  him  and  his  wife  most  effusively 
and  they  rubbed  their  hands  together  and  they  smiled 
and  they  smiled  and  the  rich  man  said: 


He  led  them  to  Prince  Lucifer 


THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS  223 

"Dear  Godfather,  how  are  you?  And  how  are  all 
my  dear  godchildren?  And  what  is  this  good  fortune 
that  has  come  to  you? " 

"  I  owe  it  all  to  you,"  the  shoemaker  said. 

"To  me?"  the  farmer  repeated  and,  although  he 
began  to  feel  sick  inside  to  think  that  any  one  had 
benefited  through  him,  he  kept  on  smiling  and  rubbing 
his  hands.  "  Tell  me  about  it,  dear  Godfather." 

"  You  know  that  piece  of  meat  you  gave  me,"  the 
shoemaker  said.  "  You  told  me  to  give  it  to  the  Devil. 
I  took  your  advice  and  made  the  Devil  a  present  of  it 
and  he  gave  me  all  these  wonderful  things  in 
return." 

The  shoemaker  made  the  tablecloth  spread  itself,  he 
made  the  rooster  crow  and  drop  a  golden  ducat,  and 
he  made  the  clubs  dance  merrily  around  the  room  and 
tickle  the  children  under  the  ribs. 

The  farmer  and  his  wife  grew  sicker  and  sicker  with 
envy  but  they  kept  on  smiling  and  rubbing  their 
hands  and  asking  questions. 

"  Tell  us,  dear  Godfather,"  they  said,  "  what  road 
do  you  take  to  go  to  hell?  Of  course  we're  not  expect- 
ing to  go  ourselves  but  we'd  just  like  to  know." 

The  shoemaker  told  them  the  way  and  they  hurried 
home.  They  slaughtered  their  finest  cattle  and  then, 


224  THE  DEVIL'S  GIFTS 

packing  on  their  backs  alL  the  choicest  cuts  of  the 
meat,  they  staggered  down  to  hell. 

When  the  little  devil  of  a  guard  saw  them  coming, 
he  grinned  and  chuckled. 

"Welcome!"  he  cried.  "We've  been  waiting  for 
you  a  long  time!  Come  right  in!  " 

He  led  them  to  Prince  Lucifer  and  the  Prince 
recognized  them  instantly. 

"  It's  very  good  of  you  coming  before  you  had 
to,"  he  said.  "  This  saves  me  a  trip  to  earth.  I  was 
thinking  just  the  other  day  it  was  time  to  go  after 
you.  And  see  all  that  fine  meat  you've  brought  with 
you!  I  certainly  am  glad  to  see  you!  It  isn't  often 
I  have  the  pleasure  of  meeting  people  as  avaricious, 
as  greedy,  as  mean,  as  you  two  have  been.  In  fact, 
both  of  you  are  such  ornaments  to  hell  that  I  think 
I'll  just  have  to  keep  you  here  forever!" 

So  the  rich  farmer  and  his  wife  were  never  again  seen 
on  earth. 

As  for  the  shoemaker — he  and  his  family  lived 
long  and  merrily.  They  shared  their  good  fortune  with 
others,  never  forgetting  the  time  when  they,  too, 
suffered  from  poverty.  And  because  they  were  good 
and  kind,  the  Devil's  gifts  brought  them  only  happiness. 


GENTLE  DORA 

THE  STORY  OF  A  DEVIL  WHO  MARRIED  A  SCOLD 


GENTLE  DORA 

f  |  ^  HERE  was   once   a  young   devil  who,   as   he 

X  wandered  over  the  earth,  found  a  book.  He 
slipped  it  carelessly  into  his  pocket  and  carried  it  down 
to  hell.  Now  this  book  contained  a  list  of  the  good 
deeds  of  a  rich  man,  and  the  account  of  a  good  deed 
is  of  course  never  allowed  to  enter  hell. 

The  devils  in  hell  when  they  opened  the  book  were 
greatly  incensed  over  their  comrade's  stupidity  and 
at  once  they  dragged  him  off  to  Prince  Lucifer  for 
punishment. 

Lucifer  when  he  heard  the  case  shook  his  head 
gravely. 

"  This  is  a  serious  offense,"  he  said  to  the  culprit. 
"  To  atone  you  must  do  one  of  two  things :  every  day 
for  seven  years  you  must  bring  a  soul  to  hell,  or  you 
must  remain  on  earth  for  seven  years  and  take  service 
among  men.  Which  will  you  do?"  , 

The  young  devil  was  a  stupid  fellow  and  he  knew 
he  would  never  be  able  to  seduce  a  soul  every  day  for 
seven  years.  So  he  said: 

227 


228  GENTLE  DORA 

"  If  I  must  choose,  Youi*  Majesty,  let  it  be  exile 
on  earth  for  seven  years." 

So  Lucifer  pronounced  sentence  and  the  young  devil 
was  driven  out  of  hell  and  warned  not  to  return  until 
the  seven  years  were  up. 

Sad  and  forlorn  he  wandered  up  and  down  the 
world  looking  for  work.  People  everywhere  were 
suspicious  of  his  black  face  and  turned  him  away. 

One  day  he  met  a  man  to  whom  he  told  his  story. 

"  And  just  because  I'm  a  devil,"  he  said  in  con- 
clusion, "  no  one  will  hire  me." 

"  I  know  where  you  can  get  work,"  the  man  told 
him.  "  Just  beyond  the  next  village  there  is  a  big 
farm  which  is  owned  by  a  woman.  She's  always  in 
need  of  laborers  for  she  has  such  a  sharp  tongue 
and  such  a  mean  disposition  that  no  one  can  stay 
with  her  longer  than  a  month.  Her  name  is  Dora 
and  in  mockery  the  people  hereabouts  call  her  Gentle 
Dora.  Why  don't  you  take  service  with  her?  As 
you're  a  devil,  you  may  be  able  to  get  the  best  of  her." 

The  devil  thanked  the  man  for  this  suggestion  and 
at  once  presented  himself  to  Gentle  Dora.  Gentle 
Dora,  as  usual,  was  in  need  of  laborers  and  so  she 
employed  the  devil  instantly  in  spite  of  his  black 
face. 


GENTLE  DORA  229 

From  the  start  she  worked  him  like  a  slave  from 
morning  till  night,  scolded  him  incessantly,  and  didn't 
give  him  half  enough  to  eat.  The  poor  fellow  grew 
thin  and  almost  pale.  The  months  went  by  and  each 
new  month  was  harder  to  live  through  than  the  one 
before. 

"  I  can  do  a  day's  work  with  the  best  of  them," 
the  devil  thought  to  himself,  "  but  there  is  no  one, 
either  man  or  devil,  who  can  stand  this  woman's 
everlasting  nagging.  Oh  dear,  oh  dear,  what  shall 
I  do?" 

Now  Gentle  Dora  was  looking  for  a  husband.  She 
had  already  had  five  husbands  all  of  whom  she  had 
nagged  to  death.  On  account  of  this  record  every 
bachelor  and  widower  in  the  village  was  a  little  shy 
of  proposing  himself  as  a  sixth  husband. 

The  devil,  who  as  I  have  told  you  was  a  simple 
fellow,  finally  decided  that  it  would  be  a  mighty  clever 
thing  for  him  to  marry  Gentle  Dora.  He  felt  sure 
that  once  he  was  her  husband  she  would  give  him  less 
work  and  more  food.  So  he  proposed  to  her. 

The  rich  widow  didn't  much  fancy  his  black  face, 
but  on  the  other  hand  she  wanted  a  husband  and  so, 
as  there  was  no  other  prospect  in  sight,  she  accepted 
him. 


230  GENTLE  DORA 

"  At  least,"  she  thought •.  to  herself,  "  by  making 
him  my  husband,  I'll  save  his  wages." 

It  wasn't  long  before  the  devil  found  out  that  life 
as  a  husband  was  even  harder  than  life  as  a  laborer. 
Now  without  wages  he  had  ten  times  more  to  do 
while  Gentle  Dora  did  nothing  but  spend  her  time 
hunting  work  for  him. 

"  Why  do  you  think  I've  married,"  she  would  cry, 
"if  it  isn't  to  have  some  one  take  care  of 
me!" 

So  she  would  stand  over  him  and  scold  and  scold 
and  scold  while  he,  poor  devil,  toiled  and  sweated, 
doing  the  work  of  six  men. 

Time  went  by  and  the  devil  grew  thinner  and  thinner 
and  paler  and  paler.  Gentle  Dora  begrudged  him 
every  mouthful  he  ate  and  was  forever  harping  on  his 
enormous  appetite. 

At  last  one  day  she  said  to  him: 

"  You're  simply  eating  me  out  of  house  and  home. 
From  now  on  you  will  have  to  board  yourself.  As 
I'm  an  honest  woman  I'll  treat  you  justly.  This 
year  we'll  divide  the  harvest  half  and  half.  Which 
will  you  have:  that  which  grows  above  the  ground,  or 
that  which  grows  below  the  ground?" 

This  sounded  fair  enough  and  the  devil  said: 


GENTLE  DORA  231 

"  Give  me  the  part  that  grows  above  the  ground." 

Thereupon  Gentle  Dora  had  the  whole  farm  planted 
in  potatoes  and  beets  and  carrots.  When  the  harvest 
came  she  gave  the  devil  the  tops  and  herself  took  all 
the  tubers. 

That  winter  the  poor  devil  would  have  starved  if 
the  neighbors  hadn't  taken  pity  on  him  and  fed  him. 

In  the  spring  Gentle  Dora  asked  him  what  part  of 
the  new  crop  he  wanted. 

"  This  time,"  he  said,  "  give  me  the  part  that  grows 
under  the  ground." 

Gentle  Dora  agreed  and  then  planted  the  entire 
farm  in  millet  and  rye  and  poppy  seed.  At  the 
harvest  she  took  all  the  grain  as  her  share  and  told 
the  devil  that  the  worthless  roots  belonged  to 
him. 

"What  chance  has  a  poor  devil  with  such  a 
woman? "  he  thought  to  himself  bitterly. 

Discouraged  and  unhappy  he  went  out  to  the  road- 
side where  he  sat  down.  The  troubles  of  domestic 
life  pressed  upon  him  so  heavily  that  soon  he  began 
to  cry. 

Presently  a  journeyman  shoemaker  came  by  and  said 
to  him: 

"  Comrade,  what  ails  you?  " 


232  GENTLE  DORA 

The  devil  looked  at  the  shoemaker  and,  when  he 
saw  that  the  shoemaker  was  a  friendly  sort  of  person, 
he  told  him  his  story. 

"Why  do  you  stand  such  treatment?"  the  shoe- 
maker asked. 

The  devil  snuffled. 

"  How  can  I  help  it?     I'm  married  to  her." 

"  How  can  you  help  it? "  the  shoemaker  repeated. 
"  Comrade,  look  at  me.  At  home  I  have  just  such  a 
wife  as  your  Gentle  Dora.  There  was  no  living  with 
her  in  peace,  so  one  morning  bright  and  early  I  ups 
and  puts  my  tool  kit  on  my  shoulder  and  leaves  her. 
Now  I  wander  about  from  place  to  place,  mending  a 
shoe  here  and  a  slipper  there,  and  life  is  much 
pleasanter  than  it  used  to  be.  Why  don't  you  leave 
your  Gentle  Dora  and  come  along  with  me?  We'll 
make  out  somehow." 

The  devil  was  overjoyed  at  the  suggestion  and  with- 
out a  moment's  hesitation  he  tramped  off  with  the 
shoemaker. 

"You  won't  regret  the  kindness  you've  done  me," 
the  devil  said.  "  I'm  so  thin  and  pale  that  probably 
you  don't  realize  I'm  a  devil.  But  I  am  and  I  can 
reward  you." 

They   wandered   about   together   for   a   long   time 


Soon  he  began  to  cry. 


GENTLE  DORA  235 

living  on  the  shoemaker's  earnings.  At  last  one  day 
the  devil  said: 

"  Comrade,  you  have  befriended  me  long  enough. 
It  is  now  my  turn  to  do  something  for  you.  I've 
got  a  fine  idea.  You  see  that  big  town  we're  coming 
to?  Well,  I'll  hurry  on  ahead  and  take  possession  of 
the  prince's  young  daughter.  You  come  along  more 
slowly  and  when  you  hear  the  proclamation  that  the 
prince  will  richly  reward  any  one  who  will  cure  his 
daughter,  present  yourself  at  the  palace.  When  they 
lead  you  to  the  princess,  make  mysterious  passes  over 
her  and  mumble  some  gibberish.  Then  I  will  quit 
her  body  and  the  prince  will  reward  you." 

The  devil's  scheme  worked  perfectly.  When  the 
shoemaker  reached  the  town  the  herald  was  already 
proclaiming  the  sad  news  that  the  princess  had  been 
taken  possession  of  by  a  devil  and  that  the  prince  was 
in  search  of  a  capable  exorcist. 

The  shoemaker  presented  himself  at  the  palace, 
made  mysterious  passes  over  the  princess's  body,  pre- 
tended to  mumble  magic  incantations,  and  in  a  short 
time  had  apparently  succeeded  in  exorcising  the 
devil. 

In  his  gratitude  for  the  princess's  recovery,  the 
prince  paid  the  shoemaker  a  hundred  golden  ducats. 


236  GENTLE  DORA 

The  devil  waited  for  the  shoemaker  outside  the  town 
gate. 

"  You  see,"  he  said  when  the  shoemaker  had  shown 
him  the  money,  "  I'm  not  an  ungrateful  devil." 

They  turned  the  same  trick  in  several  other  cities 
until  the  shoemaker  had  a  heavy  bag  of  gold. 

"  Now  you're  a  rich  man,"  the  devil  said,  "  and  we 
can  part  company.  My  seven  years  are  up  and  I  am 
going  soon  to  return  to  hell.  But  before  I  go  I'm 
going  to  take  possession  of  one  more  princess.  I 
served  Gentle  Dora  so  long  that  it's  a  pleasant  change 
to  rule  some  one.  This  time  don't  you  try  to  exorcise 
me.  You're  famous  now  and  the  princess's  father  will 
probably  hunt  you  out  and  beg  you  to  cure  his 
daughter,  but  you  must  excuse  yourself.  This  is  all 
I  ask  of  you.  If  you  allow  yourself  to  be  persuaded, 
I'll  punish  you  by  taking  possession  of  your  body. 
Don't  forget!" 

They  bade  each  other  good-bye  and  parted,  the 
shoemaker  going  west  and  the  devil  east. 

Soon  word  began  to  pass  up  and  down  the  land  that 
there  was  a  great  king  toward  the  east  who  needed 
the  services  of  the  famous  exorcist  to  restore  his 
daughter.  Emissaries  of  the  king  found  the  shoe- 
maker and  against  his  will  dragged  him  to  court.  He 


GENTLE  DORA  237 

declared  he  was  powerless  to  help  the  princess  but  the 
king  wouldn't  listen  to  him  and  threatened  him  with 
torture  and  death  if  he  refused  to  make  the  effort. 

"Well  then,"  the  shoemaker  said,  after  much 
thought,  "  chain  the  princess  to  her  bed,  order  out  all 
the  attendants,  and  let  me  see  her  alone." 

The  king  had  these  conditions  fulfilled  and  the 
shoemaker  went  boldly  into  the  princess's  chamber. 

"Hist!     Devil!"  he  called  softly. 

Instantly  the  devil  jumped  out  of  the  princess's 
mouth  and  when  he  saw  the  shoemaker  he  stamped  his 
foot  in  anger. 

"  What!  "  he  cried.  "  You've  come  after  my  warn- 
ing! Don't  you  remember  what  I  told  you?" 

The  shoemaker  put  his  finger  to  his  lips  and  winked. 

"  Softly,  comrade,"  he  whispered,  "  softly!  I'm  not 
come  to  exorcise  you  but  to  warn  you.  You  know  that 
precious  wife  of  yours,  Gentle  Dora?  Well,  she's 
traced  you  here  and  she's  down  in  the  courtyard  now 
waiting  for  you." 

The  devil  turned  white  with  fright. 

"Gentle  Dora!"  he  gasped.     "Lucifer,  help  me!" 

Without  another  word  he  jumped  out  the  window 
and  flew  straight  down  to  hell  as  fast  as  the  wind 
could  carry  him.  And  so  great  is  his  fear  of  Gentle 


238  GENTLE  DORA 

Dora  that  he  has  never  dared  to  show  his  face  on 

earth  again. 

The  king  rewarded  the  shoemaker  royally  and  to 

this  day  the  shoemaker  is  wandering  merrily   about 

from  place  to  place.    Whenever  he  hears  of  a  woman 

who  is  a  scold,  he  says: 

"  Why,  she's  a  regular  Gentle  Dora,  isn't  she? " 
And  when  people  ask  him:    "  Who's  Gentle  Dora?  " 

he  tells  them  this  story. 


THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH 

THE    STORY    OF    A    FARMER    WHO    REMEMBERED     WHAT 
HIS    GRANDMOTHER    TOLD    HIM 


THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  poor  farmer  who 
lived  in  a  wretched  tumble-down  cottage 
beyond  the  village  and  whose  farm  consisted  of  a 
miserable  little  field  no  bigger  than  your  hand.  His 
children  were  ragged  and  hungry  and  his  wife  was 
always  worried  over  getting  them  enough  to 
eat. 

Yet  the  farmer  was  a  clever  fellow  with  a  quick 
shrewd  wit  and  people  used  to  say  that  he'd  be  able 
to  fool  the  devil  if  ever  he  had  the  chance.  One  day 
the  chance  came. 

His  wife  had  sent  him  into  the  forest  to  gather  a 
bundle  of  faggots.  Suddenly  without  any  warning 
a  young  man  with  black  face  and  shiny  eyes  stood 
before  him. 

"  It's  a  devil,  of  course,"  the  farmer  told  himself. 
"  But  even  so  there's  no  use  being  frightened." 

So  he  wished  the  devil  a  civil  good-day  and  the 
devil,  who  was  really  a  very  simple  fellow  indeed, 
returned  his  greeting  and  asked  him  what  he  was 
doing  in  the  forest. 

241 


242  THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH 

Now  the  farmer  suddenly  remembered  that  his 
grandmother  had  once  told  him  devils  were  afraid  of 
lime  trees  because  the  bast  from  lime  trees  is  the  one 
thing  in  the  world  they  are  unable  to  break.  That's 
why,  when  you  catch  a  devil,  you  must  tie  his  hands  to- 
gether with  bast. 

So  the  farmer,  recalling  what  his  grandmother  had 
said,  remarked  casually: 

"  Oh,  I'm  looking  for  a  lime  tree.  I  want  to  strip  off 
some  bast.  Then  I'm  going  after  them" — and  when 
he  said  them  he  paused  significantly — "  and  tie  them 
hand  and  foot." 

He  peeped  at  the  devil  out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye 
and  saw  that  the  devil  had  turned  almost  white  under 
his  black  skin. 

"He  is  a  foolish  one!"  he  thought  to  himself. 

"  Oh,  don't  do  that!  "  the  devil  cried.  "  What  have 
we  ever  done  to  you? " 

The  farmer  pretended  to  be  firm  and  repeated  that 
that  was  just  what  he  was  going  to  do. 

"  Please  listen  to  me,"  the  devil  begged.  "  If  you 
promise  to  let  us  alone  I  tell  you  what  I'll  do:  I'll 
bring  you  such  a  big  bag  of  gold  that  it  will  make 
you  a  rich  man." 

At  first  the  farmer,  being  a  shrewd  fellow,  pretended 


THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH  243 

that  he  cared  nothing  for  money.  Then  gradually  he 
let  himself  be  persuaded  and  at  last  said: 

"  Very  well.  If  you  bring  me  the  gold  within  an 
hour  I  won't  bind  you  with  bast.  But  don't  keep 
me  waiting  or  I  may  change  my  mind." 

The  young  devil — oh,  you  never  saw  a  more  stupid 
young  fellow! — scurried  off  and,  long  before  the  hour 
was  up,  he  came  panting  back  with  a  great  big  bag  of 
gold. 

"  Is  that  enough? "  he  asked. 

The  farmer  who  had  really  never  seen  so  much 
money  in  all  his  life  hemmed  and  hawed  but  finally 
said: 

"  Well,  it  isn't  as  much  as  I  expected  but  I'll  accept 
it." 

The  young  devil,  delighted  with  his  bargain,  hurried 
back  to  hell  and  told  all  his  black  comrades  how 
grateful  they  ought  to  be  to  him  for  saving  them 
from  the  farmer  who  was  planning  to  bind  them, 
hand  and  foot,  with  bast. 

When  the  other  devils  heard  the  whole  story,  they 
laughed  at  him  loud  and  long. 

"  You  are  certainly  the  stupidest  devil  in  hell !  " 
they  said.  "  Why,  that  man  has  made  a  fool  of 
you!" 


244  THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH 

They  discussed  the  matter  among  themselves  and 
decided  that  the  devil  would  have  to  get  back  the  bag 
of  gold  or  the  story  would  leak  out  and  thereafter  the 
people  on  earth  would  have  no  more  respect  for 
devils. 

"  Go  back  to  the  farmer,"  they  said,  "  and  dare  him 
to  a  wrestling  match.  Tell  him  that  whoever  wins 
the  match  is  to  keep  the  gold." 

So  the  young  devil  went  back  to  earth  and  dared 
the  farmer  to  a  wrestling  match.  The  farmer,  who 
saw  how  things  were,  said: 

"  My  dear  young  friend,  if  I  were  to  wrestle  with 
you  I'm  afraid  I'd  hurt  you  for  I'm  awfully  strong. 
I  tell  you  what  I'll  do:  I'll  let  you  wrestle  with  my 
old  grandfather.  He's  ninety-nine  years  old  but  even 
so  he's  more  nearly  in  your  class." 

The  devil  agreed  to  this  and  the  farmer — oh,  but 
that  farmer  was  a  sly  one! — led  him  out  into  the  forest 
to  a  cave  where  a  big  brown  bear  lay  asleep. 

"  There's  my  grandfather,"  the  farmer  said.  "  Go 
wake  him  up  and  make  him  wrestle." 

The   devil   shook   the   bear   and   said: 

"Wake  up,  old  man!  Wake  up!  We're  going  to 
wrestle!" 

The  bear  opened  his  little  eyes,  stood  up  on  his 


THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH  245 

hind  legs,  and  taking  the  devil  in  his  arms  hugged  him 
until  the  devil  thought  his  bones  would  all  be  crushed. 
It  was  as  much  as  the  devil  could  do  to  escape  with 
his  life. 

"  Oh,  my  poor  ribs !  My  poor  ribs !  "  he  gasped  when 
he  was  safely  back  in  hell.  "  He's  a  terrible  man — 
that  farmer!  Why,  even  his  old  grandfather  is  so 
strong  that  I  thought  he'd  squeeze  me  to 
death!" 

But  when  he  had  told  his  full  story  the  other  devils 
laughed  at  him  louder  than  before  and  told  him  that 
the  farmer  had  again  fooled  him. 

"  You've  got  to  try  another  match  with  him,"  they 
said.  "  This  time  dare  him  to  a  foot  race  and  mind 
you  don't  let  him  fool  you." 

So  in  a  day  or  two  when  the  soreness  was  gone 
from  his  bones  the  devil  went  back  to  earth  and 
dared  the  farmer  to  run  a  foot  race  with  him. 

"  Certainly,"  the  farmer  said,  "  but  it's  hardly  fair 
to  let  you  run  against  me  because  I  go  like  the  wind. 
I  tell  you  what  I'll  do:  I'll  let  you  race  with  my 
small  son.  He's  only  a  year  old  and  perhaps  you 
can  beat  him." 

The  devil — I  never  knew  a  more  stupid  fellow  in 
my  life! — agreed  to  this  and  the  farmer  took  him  out 


246  THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH 

to  a  meadow.  Under  some,  bushes  he  showed  him  a 
rabbit's  hole. 

"  My  little  boy's  asleep  in  there,"  he  said.  "  Call 
him  out." 

"Little  boy!"  the  devil  called.  "Come  out  and 
run  a  race  with  me !  " 

Instantly  a  rabbit  jumped  out  of  the  hole  and  went 
hoppetylop  across  the  meadow.  The  devil  tried  hard 
to  overtake  him  but  couldn't.  He  ran  on  and  on. 
They  came  at  last  to  a  deep  ravine.  The  rabbit 
leaped  across  but  the  devil,  when  he  tried  to  do  the 
same,  slipped  and  fell  and  went  rolling  down  over 
stones  and  brambles,  down,  down,  down,  into  a  brook. 
When  he  had  dragged  himself  out  of  the  water, 
bruised  and  scratched,  the  rabbit  had  disappeared. 

"I've  had  enough  of  that  farmer,"  the  devil  said 
when  he  got  back  to  hell.  "Why,  do  you  know,  he 
has  a  small  boy  just  one  year  old  and  I  tell  you  there 
isn't  one  of  you  can  beat  that  boy  running! " 

But  the  devils  when  they  heard  the  rest  of  the  story 
only  laughed  and  jeered  and  told  their  comrade  that 
the  farmer  had  again  tricked  him. 

"  You've  got  to  go  back  to  him  another  time,"  they 
said.  "  It  will  never  do  for  people  to  get  the  idea 
that  devils  are  such  fools." 


THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH  247 

"But  I  tell  you  I  won't  dare  him  to  another 
wrestling  match,"  the  young  devil  said,  "  nor  to  a 
foot  race,  either." 

"  Try  whistling  this  time,"  his  comrades  told  him. 
"You  ought  to  be  able  to  beat  him  whistling.  Now 
have  your  wits  about  you  and  don't  let  him  fool 
you  again." 

So  the  devil  went  back  to  earth  and  said  to  the 
farmer : 

"We've  got  to  have  another  contest  for  that  bag 
of  money.  This  time  let's  try  whistling." 

"Very  well,"  the  farmer  said.  "We'll  have  a 
whistling  match." 

They  went  off  into  the  forest  and  the  farmer  told 
the  devil  to  whistle  first. 

The  devil  whistled  and  all  the  leaves  on  the  trees 
shook  and  trembled.  He  whistled  again  and  the  twigs 
began  to  crackle  and  break.  He  whistled  a  third 
time  and  big  branches  snapped  off  and  fell  to  the 
ground. 

"  There!  "  the  devil  exclaimed,  "  Can  you  beat  that?  " 

"My  poor  boy,"  the  farmer  said.  (Oh,  but  that 
farmer  was  a  tricky  one!)  "Is  that  the  best  you 
can  do?  Why,  when  I  whistle,  if  you  don't  cover  up 
your  ears  you'll  be  deafened!  And  as  likely  as  not 


248  THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH 

a  tree  will  fall  on  you  and  kill  you!  Now  shall  I 
begin? " 

"Wait  a  minute!"  the  devil  begged.  "Won't  you 
please  tie  up  my  ears  before  you  begin  because  I  don't 
want  to  be  deafened." 

This  was  just  what  the  farmer  was  hoping  the 
devil  would  say.  So  he  took  out  a  big  kerchief  and 
put  it  over  the  devil's  ears  and  also  over  his  eyes  and 
tied  it  behind  in  a  hard  knot. 

"Now  then!"  he  shouted.     "Take  care!" 

With  that  he  began  to  whistle  and  as  he  whistled 
he  picked  up  a  big  branch  off  the  ground  and  gave 
the  devil  an  awful  crack  over  the  head. 

"My  head!     My  head!"  the  devil  cried. 

"My  poor  fellow!"  the  farmer  said,  pretending 
to  be  very  sympathetic.  "  I  hope  that  tree  as  it  fell 
down  didn't  hurt  you!  Now  I'm  going  to  whistle 
again  and  you  must  be  more  careful." 

This  time  when  he  whistled  the  farmer  struck  the 
devil  over  the  head  harder  than  before. 

"That's  enough!"  the  devil  shouted.  "Another 
tree  has  fallen  on  me!  Stop!  Stop!  " 

"  No,"  the  farmer  insisted.  "  You  whistled  three 
times  and  I'm  going  to  whistle  three  times.  Are  you 
ready? " 


THE  DEVIL'S  MATCH  249 

The  poor  devil  had  to  say:  "  Yes,"  and  thereupon  the 
farmer  began  to  whistle  and  at  the  same  time  to  beat 
the  devil  over  his  head  and  shoulders  until  the  devil 
supposed  that  the  whole  forest  was  falling  on  him. 

"  Stop  whistling! "  he  shouted.  "  Stop  or  I'll  be 
killed!" 

But  the  farmer  wouldn't  stop  until  he  was  too 
exhausted  to  beat  the  devil  any  longer. 

Then  he  paused  and  asked: 

"Shall  I  whistle  some  more?" 

"No!  No!  No!"  the  devil  roared.  "Undo  the 
kerchief  and  let  me  go  and  I  swear  I'll  never  come 
back!" 

So  the  farmer  undid  the  kerchief  and  the  devil 
fled,  too  terrified  to  stop  even  long  enough  to  look 
around  for  all  those  fallen  trees. 

He  never  came  back  and  the  farmer  was  left  in  un- 
disputed possession  of  the  gold. 

"  I  owe  all  my  good  fortune  to  my  old  grandmother," 
the  farmer  used  to  say,  "  for  she  it  was  who  told  me 
to  tie  them  with  bast." 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

THE  STOEY  OF  A  YOUTH  WHO  COULDN'T  FIND  WORK 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  youth  named 
Peter.  He  was  the  son  of  a  rich  farmer  but 
on  his  father's  death  his  stepmother  robbed  him  of 
his  inheritance  and  drove  him  out  into  the  world, 
penniless  and  destitute. 

"  Begone  with  you  now!  "  she  shouted.  "  Never 
let  me  see  your  face  again! " 

"Where  shall  I  go?"  Peter  asked. 

"  Go  to  the  Devil,  for  all  I  care ! "  the  stepmother 
cried  and  slammed  the  door  in  his  face. 

Peter  felt  very  sad  at  being  driven  away  from 
the  farm  that  had  always  been  his  home,  but  he  was 
an  able-bodied  lad,  industrious  and  energetic,  and  he 
thought  he  would  have  no  trouble  making  his  way 
in  the  world. 

He  tramped  to  the  next  village  and  stopped  at  a 
big  farmhouse.  The  farmer  was  standing  at  the 
door,  eating  a  great  hunk  of  buttered  bread. 

Peter  touched  his   hat  respectfully   and   said: 

"Let  every  one  praise  Lord  Jesus!" 

With  his  mouth  stuffed  full,  the  farmer  responded: 

253 


254     THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

"Until  the  Day  of  Judgment!"  Then  in  a 
different  tone  he  demanded:  "What  do  you  want?" 

"  I'm  looking  for  work,"  Peter  said.  "  Do  you 
need  a  laborer? " 

Peter  was  well  dressed  for  he  had  on  the  last 
clothes  his  kind  father  had  given  him.  The  farmer 
looked  him  over  and  sneered. 

"  A  fine  laborer  you  would  make !  You  would  do 
good  work  at  meals — I  see  that,  and  spend  the  rest 
of  your  time  at  cards  and  teasing  the  maids!  I 
know  your  kind !  " 

Peter  tried  to  tell  the  farmer  that  he  was  industrious 
and  steady  but  with  an  oath  the  farmer  told  him  to 
go  to  the  Devil.  Then  stepping  inside  the  house  he 
slammed  the  door  in  Peter's  face. 

In  the  next  village  he  applied  for  work  at  the 
bailiff's  house.  The  bailiff's  wife  answered  his  knock. 

"  The  master  is  playing  cards  with  two  of  his 
friends,"  she  said.  "  I'll  go  in  and  ask  him  if  he 
has  anything  for  you  to  do." 

Peter  heard  her  speak  to  some  one  inside  and  then 
a  rough  voice  bellowed  out: 

"  No!  How  often  have  I  told  you  not  to  interrupt 
me  when  I'm  busy!  Tell  the  fellow  to  go  to  the 
Devil!" 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW     255 

Without  waiting  for  the  bailiff's  wife,  Peter  turned 
away.  Tired  and  discouraged  he  took  a  path  into 
the  woods  and  sat  down. 

"  There  doesn't  seem  to  be  any  place  for  me  in 
all  the  world,"  he  thought  to  himself.  "  They  all  teU 
me  to  go  to  the  Devil — my  stepmother,  the  farmer, 
and  now  the  bailiff.  If  I  knew  the  way  to  hell  I 
think  I'd  take  their  advice.  I'm  sure  the  Devil  would 
treat  me  better  than  they  do ! " 

Just  then  a  handsome  gentleman,  dressed  in  green, 
walked  by.  Peter  touched  his  hat  politely  and  said: 

"  Let   every   one  praise   Lord   Jesus." 

The  man  passed  him  without  responding.  Then  he 
looked  back  and  asked  Peter  why  he  looked  so 
discouraged. 

"  I  have  reason  to  look  discouraged,"  Peter  said. 
"  Everywhere  I  ask  for  work  they  tell  me  to  go  to 
the  Devil.  If  I  knew  the  way  Jo  hell  I  think  I'd 
take  their  advice  and  go." 

The  stranger  smiled. 

"  But  if  you  saw  the  Devil,  don't  you  think  you'd 
be  afraid  of  him?" 

Peter  shook  his  head. 

"  He  can't  be  any  worse  than  my  stepmother,  or 
the  farmer,  or  the  bailiff." 


256     THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

The   man   suddenly   turned   black. 

"  Look  at  me !  "  he  cried.  "  Here  I  am,  the  very 
person  we've  been  talking  about! " 

With  no  show  of  fear  Peter  looked  the  Devil  up 
and  down. 

Then  the  Devil  said  that  if  Peter  still  wished  to 
enter  his  service,  he  would  take  him.  The  work 
would  be  light,  the  Devil  said,  and  the  hours  good,  and 
if  Peter  did  as  he  was  told  he  would  have  a  pleasant 
time.  The  Devil  promised  to  keep  him  seven  years 
and  at  the  end  of  that  time  to  make  him  a  handsome 
present  and  set  him  free. 

Peter  shook  hands  on  the  bargain  and  the  Devil, 
taking  him  about  the  waist,  whisked  him  up  into  the 
air,  and,  pst!  before  Peter  knew  what  was  happening, 
they  were  in  hell. 

The  Devil  gave  Peter  a  leather  apron  and  led 
him  into  a  room  where  there  were  three  big  caul- 
drons. 

"  Now  it's  your  duty,"  the  Devil  said,  "  to  keep  the 
fires  under  these  cauldrons  always  burning.  Keep 
four  logs  under  the  first  cauldron,  eight  logs  under 
the  second,  and  twelve  under  the  third.  Be  careful 
never  to  let  the  fires  go  out.  And  another  thing, 
Peter:  you're  never  to  peep  inside  the  cauldrons.  If 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW     257 

you  do  I'll  drive  you  away  without  a  cent  of  wages. 
Don't   forget!" 

So  Peter  began  working  for  the  Devil  and  the 
treatment  he  received  was  so  much  better  than  that 
which  he  had  had  on  earth  that,  sometimes,  it  seemed 
to  him  he  was  in  heaven  rather  than  hell.  He  had 
plenty  of  good  food  and  drink  and,  as  the  Devil  had 
promised  him,  the  work  was  not  heavy. 

For  companions  he  had  the  young  apprentice  devils, 
a  merry  black  crew,  who  told  droll  stories  and  played 
amusing  pranks. 

Time  passed  quickly.  Peter  was  faithful  at  his  work 
and  never  once  peeped  under  the  lids  of  his  three 
cauldrons. 

At  last  he  began  to  grow  homesick  for  the  world 
and  one  day  he  asked  the  Devil  how  much  longer  he 
had  still  to  serve. 

"  Tomorrow,"  the  Devil  told  him,  "  your  seven  years 
are  up." 

The  next  day  while  Peter  was  piling  fresh  logs  under 
the  cauldrons,  the  Devil  came  to  him  and  said: 

"  Today,  Peter,  you  are  free.  You  have  served 
me  faithfully  and  well  and  I  am  going  to  reward  you 
handsomely.  Money  would  be  too  heavy  for  you  to 
carry,  so  I  am  going  to  give  you  this  bag  which 


258     THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

is  a  magic  bag.  Whenever  you  open  it  and  say :  '  Bag, 
I  need  some  ducats,'  the  bag  will  always  have  just  as 
many  as  you  need.  Good  luck  go  with  you,  Peter. 
However,  I  don't  believe  you'll  have  a  very  good  time 
at  first  for  people  will  think  you're  a  devil.  You  know 
you  do  look  pretty  black  for  you  haven't  washed  for 
seven  years  and  you  haven't  cut  your  hair  or  nails." 

"That's  true,"  said  Peter.  "I  just  remember  I 
haven't  washed  ever  since  I've  been  down  here.  I 
certainly  must  take  a  bath  and  get  my  hair  cut  and 
my  nails  trimmed." 

The  Devil  shook  his  head. 

"  No,  Peter,  one  bath  won't  do  it.  Water  won't 
wash  off  the  kind  of  black  you  get  down  here.  I 
know  what  you  must  do  but  I  won't  tell  you  just  yet. 
Go  up  into  the  world  as  you  are  and,  if  ever  you  need 
me,  call  me.  If  the  people  up  there  ask  you  who 
you  are,  tell  them  you're  the  Devil's  little  brother- 
in-law.  This  isn't  a  joke.  It's  true  as  you'll  find 
out  some  day." 

Peter  then  took  leave  of  all  the  little  black  appren- 
tices and  the  Devil,  lifting  him  on  his  back,  whisked 
him  up  to  earth  and  set  him  down  in  the  forest  on 
exactly  the  same  spot  where  they  had  met  seven  years 
before. 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW     259 

The  Devil  disappeared  and  Peter,  stuffing  the  magic 
bag  in  his  pocket,  walked  to  the  nearest  village. 

His  appearance  created  a  panic.  On  sight  of  him 
the  children  ran  screaming  home,  crying  out: 

"  The  Devil!     The  Devil  is  coming!  " 

Mothers  and  fathers  ran  out  of  the  houses  to  see 
what  was  the  matter  but  on  sight  of  Peter  they  ran 
in  again,  barred  all  the  doors  and  windows,  and  making 
the  sign  of  the  cross  prayed  God  Almighty  to  protect 
them. 

Peter  went  on  to  the  tavern.  The  landlord  and  his 
wife  were  standing  in  the  doorway.  As  Peter  came 
toward  them,  they  cried  out  in  fright: 

"  O  Lord,  forgive  us  our  sins !  The  Devil  is 
coming! " 

They  tried  to  run  away  but  they  tripped  over  each 
other  and  fell  down,  and  before  they  could  scramble 
to  their  feet  Peter  stood  before  them. 

He  looked  at  them  for  a  moment  and  laughed. 
Then  he  went  inside  the  tavern,  sat  down,  and  said: 

"Landlord,   bring  me   a   drink!" 

Quaking  with  fright  the  landlord  went  to  the  cellar 
and  drew  a  pitcher  of  beer.  Then  he  called  the  little 
herd  who  was  working  in  the  stable. 

"Yirik,"  he  said  to  the  boy,  "take  this  beer  into 


260     THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

the  house.  There's  a  man  in  there  waiting  for  it.  He's 
a  little  strange  looking  but  you  needn't  be  afraid.  He 
won't  hurt  you." 

Yirik  took  the  pitcher  of  beer  and  started  in.  He 
opened  the  door  and  then,  as  he  caught  sight  of 
Peter,  he  dropped  the  pitcher  and  fled. 

The  landlord  scolded  him  angrily. 

"  What  do  you  mean,"  he  shouted,  "  not  giving 
the  gentleman  his  beer?  And  breaking  the  pitcher, 
too!  The  price  of  it  will  be  deducted  from  your 
wages!  Draw  another  pitcher  of  beer  and  place  it 
at  once  before  the  gentleman." 

Yirik  feared  Peter  but  he  feared  the  landlord  more. 
He  was  an  orphan,  poor  lad,  and  served  the  landlord 
for  his  keep  and  three  dollars  a  year. 

So  with  trembling  fingers  he  drew  a  pitcher  of  beer 
and  then,  breathing  a  prayer  to  his  patron  saint,  he 
slowly  dragged  himself  into  the  tavern. 

"  There,  there,  boy,"  Peter  called  out  kindly.  "  You 
needn't  be  afraid.  I'm  not  going  to  hurt  you.  I'm 
not  the  Devil.  I'm  only  his  little  brother-in-law." 

Yirik  took  heart  and  placed  the  beer  in  front  of 
Peter.  Then  he  stood  still,  not  daring  to  raise  his  eyes. 

Peter  began  asking  him  about  himself,  who  he 
was,  how  he  came  to  be  working  for  the  landlord,  and 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW     261 

what  kind  of  treatment  he  was  receiving.  Yirik 
stammered  out  his  story  and  as  he  talked  he  forgot  his 
fear,  he  forgot  that  Peter  looked  like  a  devil,  and 
presently  he  was  talking  to  him  freely  as  one  friend 
to  another. 

Peter  was  touched  by  the  orphan's  story  and,  pulling 
out  his  magic  money  bag,  he  filled  Yirik's  cap  with 
golden  ducats.  The  boy  danced  about  the  room  with 
delight.  Then  he  ran  outside  and  showed  the  land- 
lord and  the  people  who  had  gathered  the  present 
which  the  strange  gentleman  had  made  him. 

"  And  he  says  he's  not  the  Devil,"  Yirik  reported, 
"  but  only  his  brother-in-law." 

When  the  landlord  heard  that  Peter  really  hadn't 
any  horns  or  a  flaming  tongue,  he  picked  up  courage 
and  going  inside  he  begged  Peter  to  give  him,  too, 
a  few  golden  ducats.  But  Peter  only  laughed  at  him. 

Peter  stayed  at  the  tavern  overnight.  Just  as  he 
fell  asleep  some  one  shook  his  hand  and,  as  he  opened 
his  eyes,  he  saw  his  old  master  standing  beside  him. 

"  Quick!  "  the  Devil  whispered.  "  Get  up  and  hurry 
out  to  the  shed!  The  landlord  is  about  to  murder 
the  orphan  for  his  money." 

Peter  jumped  out  of  bed  and  ran  outside  to  the 
shed  where  Yirik  slept.  He  burst  open  the  door 


262     THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

just  as  the  landlord  was  ready  to  stab  the  sleeping 
boy  with  a  dagger. 

"You  sinner!"  Peter  cried.  "I've  caught  you  at 
last!  Off  to  hell  you  go  with  me  this  instant  to  stew 
forever  in  boiling  oil!" 

The  landlord  fainted  with  terror.  Peter  dragged 
him  senseless  into  the  house.  When  he  came  to  him- 
self he  fell  on  his  knees  before  Peter  and  begged  for 
mercy.  He  offered  Peter  everything  he  possessed  if 
only  Peter  would  grant  him  another  chance  and  he 
solemnly  vowed  that  he  would  repent  and  give  up 
his  evil  ways. 

At  last  Peter  said: 

"  Very  well.  I'll  give  you  another  chance  provided 
that,  from  this  time  on,  you  treat  Yirik  as  your  son. 
Be  kind  to  him  and  send  him  to  school.  The  moment 
you  forget  your  promise  and  treat  him  cruelly,  I'll 
come  and  carry  you  off  to  hell!  Remember!  " 

There  was  no  need  to  urge  the  landlord  to  remember. 
From  that  night  he  was  a  changed  man.  He  became 
honest  in  all  his  dealings  and  he  really  did  treat  Yirik 
as  though  he  were  his  own  son. 

Peter  stayed  on  at  the  tavern  and  stories  about 
him  and  his  golden  ducats  began  to  spread  through 
the  country-side.  The  prince  of  the  land  heard  of 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW     263 

him  and  sent  word  that  he  would  like  to  see  him  at 
the  castle.  Peter  answered  the  prince's  messenger 
that  if  the  prince  wished  to  see  him  he  could  come  to 
the  tavern. 

"Who  is  this  prince  of  yours,"  Peter  asked  the 
landlord,  "  and  why  does  he  want  to  see  me?  " 

"  He'd  probably  like  to  borrow  some  money  from 
you,"  the  landlord  said.  "  He's  deep  in  debt  for  he 
has  two  of  the  wickedest,  most  extravagant  daughters 
in  the  world.  They're  the  children  of  his  first 
marriage.  They  are  proud  and  haughty  and  they 
waste  the  money  of  the  realm  as  though  it  were  so 
much  sand.  The  people  are  crying  out  against  them 
and  their  wasteful  ways  but  the  prince  seems  unable 
to  curb  them.  The  prince  has  a  third  daughter,  the 
child  of  his  second  wife.  Her  name  is  Angelina  and 
she  certainly  is  as  good  and  beautiful  as  an  angel. 
We  call  her  the  Princess  Linka.  There  isn't  a  man  in 
the  country  that  wouldn't  go  through  fire  and  water 
for  her — God  bless  her!  As  for  the  other  two — may 
the  Devil  take  them!" 

Suddenly  remembering  himself,  the  landlord  clapped 
his  hand  to  his  mouth  in  alarm. 

Peter  laughed  good-humoredly. 

"  That's  all  right,  landlord.     Don't  mind  me.     As 


264     THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

I've  told  you  before  I'm  not  the  Devil.  I'm  only  his 
little  brother-in-law." 

The  landlord  shook  his  head. 

"  Yes,  I  know,  but  I  must  say  it  seems  much  the 
same  to  me." 

One  afternoon  the  prince  came  riding  down  to 
the  tavern  and  asked  for  Peter.  He  was  horrified 
at  first  by  Peter's  appearance,  but  he  treated  him  most 
politely,  invited  him  to  the  castle,  and  ended  by  beg- 
ging the  loan  of  a  large  sum  of  money. 

Peter  said  to  the  prince: 

"I'll  give  you  as  much  money  as  you  want  pro- 
vided you  let  me  marry  one  of  your  daughters." 

The  prince  wasn't  prepared  for  this  but  he  needed 
money  so  badly  that  he  said : 

"H'm,  which  one  of  them?" 

"  I'm  not  particular,"  Peter  answered.  "  Any  of 
them  will  do." 

When  he  gave  the  prince  some  money  in  advance, 
the  prince  agreed  and  Peter  promised  to  come  to  the 
castle  the  next  day  to  meet  his  bride  to  be. 

The  prince  when  he  got  home  told  his  daughters 
that  he  had  seen  Peter.  They  questioned  him  about 
Peter's  appearance  and  asked  him  what  sort  of  a  look- 
ing person  this  brother-in-law  of  the  Devil  was. 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW     265 

"  He  isn't  so  very  ugly,"  the  prince  said,  "  really  he 
isn't.  If  he  washed  his  face  and  trimmed  his  hair  and 
nails  he'd  be  fairly  good-looking.  In  fact  I  rather  like 
him." 

He  then  talked  to  them  very  seriously  about  the 
state  of  the  treasury  and  he  told  them  that  unless  he 
could  raise  a  large  sum  of  money  shortly  there  was 
danger  of  an  uprising  among  the  people. 

"  If  you,  my  daughters,  wish  to  see  the  peace  of  the 
country  preserved,  if  you  want  to  make  me  happy 
in  my  old  age,  one  of  you  will  have  to  marry  this 
young  man,  for  I  see  no  other  way  to  raise  the 
money." 

At  this  the  two  older  princesses  tossed  their  heads 
scornfully  and  laughed  loud  and  long. 

"  You  may  rest  assured,  dear  father,  that  neither  of 
us  will  marry  such  a  creature!  We  are  the  daughters 
of  a  prince  and  won't  marry  beneath  us,  no,  not  even 
to  save  the  country  from  ruin ! " 

"  Then  I  don't  know  what  I'll  do,"  the  prince  said. 

"  Father,"  whispered  Linka,  the  youngest.  Her 
voice  quavered  and  her  face  turned  pale.  "  Father, 
if  your  happiness  and  the  peace  of  the  country  depend 
on  this  marriage,  I  will  sacrifice  myself,  God  help 
me!" 


266     THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

"  My  child!  My  dear  child!  "  the  prince  cried,  tak- 
ing Linka  in  his  arms  and  kissing  her  tenderly. 

The  two  elder  sisters  jeered  and  ha-ha-ed. 

"  Little  sister-in-law  of  the  Devil! "  they  said  mock- 
ingly. "  Now  if  you  were  to  marry  Prince  Lucifer 
himself  that  would  be  something,  for  at  least  you  would 
be  a  princess!  But  only  to  be  his  sister-in-law — ha! 
ha! — what  does  that  amount  to?" 

And  they  laughed  with  amusement  and  made  nasty 
evil  jokes  until  poor  little  Linka  had  to  put  her  hands 
to  her  ears  not  to  hear  them. 

The  next  day  Peter  came  to  the  castle.  The  older 
sisters  when  they  saw  how  black  he  was  were  glad 
enough  they  had  refused  to  marry  him.  As  for  Linka, 
the  moment  she  looked  at  him  she  fainted  dead  away. 

When  she  revived  the  prince  led  her  over  to  Peter 
and  gave  Peter  her  hand.  She  was  trembling  violently 
and  her  hand  was  cold  as  marble. 

"Don't  be  afraid,  little  princess,"  Peter  whispered 
to  her  gently.  "  I  know  how  awful  I  look.  But 
perhaps  I  won't  always  be  so  ugly.  I  promise  you, 
if  you  marry  me,  I  shall  always  love  you  dearly." 

Linka  was  greatly  comforted  by  the  sound  of  his 
pleasant  voice,  but  each  time  she  looked  at  him  she 
was  terrified  anew. 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW      267 

Peter  saw  this  and  made  his  visit  short.  He  handed 
out  to  the  prince  as  much  money  as  he  needed  and  then, 
after  agreeing  to  return  in  eight  days  for  the  wedding, 
he  hurried  off. 

He  went  to  the  place  where  he  had  met  the  Devil 
the  first  time  and  called  him  by  name  with  all  his 
might. 

The  Devil  instantly  appeared. 

"What  do  you  want,  little  brother-in-law?" 

"  I  want  to  look  like  myself  again,"  Peter  said. 
"What  good  will  it  do  me  to  marry  a  sweet  little 
princess  and  then  have  the  poor  girl  faint  away  every 
time  she  looks  at  me!" 

"  Very  well,  brother-in-law.  If  that  is  how  you 
feel  about  it,  come  along  with  me  and  I'll  soon  make 
you  into  a  handsome  young  man." 

Peter  leaped  on  the  Devil's  back  and  off  they  flew 
over  mountains  and  forests  and  distant  countries. 

They  alighted  in  a  deep  forest  beside  a  bubbling 
spring. 

"  Now,  little  brother-in-law,"  the  Devil  said,  "  wash 
in  this  water  and  see  how  handsome  you'll  soon  be." 

Peter  threw  off  his  clothes  and  jumped  into  the 
water  and  when  he  came  out  his  skin  was  as  beautiful 
and  fresh  as  a  girl's.  He  looked  at  his  own  reflec- 


268     THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

tion  in  the  spring  and  it  made  him  so  happy  that  he 
said  to  the  Devil: 

"  Brother-in-law,  I'm  more  grateful  to  you  for  this 
than  for  all  the  money  you've  given  me.  Now  my 
dear  Linka  will  love  me !  " 

He  put  his  arms  about  the  Devil's  neck  and  off 
they  flew  once  again.  This  time  they  went  to  a  big 
city  where  Peter  bought  beautiful  clothes  and  jewels 
and  coaches  and  horses.  He  engaged  servants  in  fine 
livery  and,  when  he  was  ready  to  go  to  his  bride,  he 
had  a  following  that  was  worthy  of  any  prince. 

At  the  castle  the  Princess  Linka  paced  her 
chamber  pale  and  trembling.  The  two  older  sisters 
were  with  her,  laughing  heartlessly  and  making  evil 
jokes,  and  running  every  moment  to  the  window  to 
see  if  the  groom  were  coming. 

At  last  they  saw  in  the  distance  a  long  line  of 
shining  coaches  with  outriders  in  rich  livery.  The 
coaches  drew  up  at  the  castle  gate  and  from  the  first 
one  a  handsome  youth,  arrayed  like  a  prince,  alighted. 
He  hurried  into  the  castle  and  ran  straight  upstairs 
to  Linka's  chamber. 

At  first  Linka  was  afraid  to  look  at  him  for  she 
supposed  he  was  still  black.  But  when  he  took  her 
hand  and  whispered:  "Dear  Linka,  look  at  me  now 


THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW      269 

and  you  won't  be  frightened,"  she  looked  and  it 
seemed  to  her  that  Peter  was  the  very  handsomest 
young  man  in  all  the  world.  She  fell  in  love  with 
him  on  sight  and  I  might  as  well  tell  you  she's  been 
in  love  with  him  ever  since. 

The  two  older  sisters  stood  at  the  window  frozen 
stiff  with  envy  and  surprise.  Suddenly  they  felt  some 
one  clutch  them  from  behind.  They  turned  in  fright 
and  who  did  they  see  standing  there  but  the  Devil 
himself! 

"  Don't  be  afraid,  my  dear  brides,"  he  said.  "  I'm 
not  a  common  fellow.  I'm  Prince  Lucifer  himself. 
So,  in  becoming  my  brides  you  are  not  losing 
rank!" 

Then  he  turned  to  Peter  and  chuckled. 

"  You  see  now,  Peter,  why  you  are  my  brother- 
in-law.  You're  marrying  one  sister  and  I'm  taking  the 
other  two ! " 

With  that  he  picked  up  the  two  wicked  sisters 
under  his  arm  and  puff!  with  a  whiff  of  sulphur  they 
all  three  disappeared  through  the  ceiling. 

The  Princess  Linka  as  she  clung  to  her  young 
husband  asked  a  little  fearfully: 

"  Peter,  do  you  suppose  we'll  have  to  see  our  brother- 
in-law  often? " 


270     THE  DEVIL'S  LITTLE  BROTHER-IN-LAW 

"  Not  if  you  make  me  a  good  wife,"  Peter  said. 

And  you  can  understand  what  a  good  wife  Linka 
became  when  I  tell  you  that  never  again  all  her  life 
long  did  she  see  the  Devil. 


THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON 

THE  STOEY  OF  THE  MAN  WHO  SITS  NEAR  THE 
GOLDEN   GATE 


THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON 

THERE  was  once  a  shoemaker  who  made  so 
little  at  his  trade  that  his  wife  suffered  and 
his  children  went  hungry.  In  desperation  he  offered  to 
sell  his  soul  to  a  devil. 

"  How  much  do  you  want  for  your  soul? "  the 
devil  asked  him. 

"  I  want  work  enough  to  give  me  a  good  livelihood," 
the  shoemaker  said,  "  so  that  my  wife  won't  suffer 
nor  my  children  starve." 

The  devil  agreed  to  this  and  the  shoemaker  put  his 
mark  on  the  contract.  After  that  trade  improved  and 
soon  the  little  shoemaker  was  happy  and  prosperous. 

Now  one  night  it  happened  that  Christ  and  the 
blessed  St.  Peter,  who  were  walking  about  on  earth, 
stopped  at  the  little  shoemaker's  cottage  and  asked 
for  a  night's  lodging.  The  shoemaker  received  them 
most  hospitably.  He  had  his  wife  cook  them  a  fine 
supper  and  after  supper  he  gave  them  his  own  bed  to 
sleep  on  while  he  and  his  wife  went  to  the  garret  and 
slept  on  straw. 

In  the  morning  he  had  his  wife  prepare  them  a  good 

273 


274  THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON 

breakfast  and  after  breakfast  he  took  them  on  their 
way  for  a  mile  or  two. 

As  he  was  leaving  them,  St.  Peter  whispered  to 
Christ: 

"  Master,  this  poor  man  has  given  us  of  his  best. 
Don't  you  think  you  ought  to  reward  him? " 

Christ  nodded  and,  turning  to  the  little  shoemaker, 
he  said: 

"  For  your  kindness  to  us  this  day  I  will  reward 
you.  Make  three  wishes  and  they  will  be  granted." 

The  shoemaker  thanked  Christ  and  said: 

"  Well  then,  these  are  my  wishes :  first,  may  who- 
ever sits  down  on  my  cobbler's  stool  be  unable  to  get 
up  until  I  permit  him;  second,  may  whoever  looks  into 
the  window  of  my  cottage  have  to  stand  there  until  I 
let  him  go;  and  third,  may  whoever  shakes  the  pear- 
tree  in  my  garden  stick  to  the  tree  until  I  set  him  free." 

"  Your  wishes  will  be  granted,"  Christ  promised. 
Then  he  and  St.  Peter  went  on  their  way  and  the 
shoemaker  returned  to  his  cottage. 

The  years  went  by  and  at  last  one  afternoon  the 
devil  stood  before  the  shoemaker  and  said: 

"Ho,  shoemaker,  your  time  has  come!  Are  you 
ready?" 

"Just   let  me   have   a  bite   of   supper   first,"   the 


THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON  275 

shoemaker  said.  "  In  the  meantime  you  sit  down  here 
on  my  stool  and  rest  yourself." 

The  devil  who  had  been  walking  up  and  down  the 
earth  since  sunrise  was  tired  and  so  was  glad  enough 
to  sit  down. 

After  supper  the  little  shoemaker  said: 

"  Now  then,  I'm  ready.    Come  on." 

The  devil  tried  to  stand  up  but  of  course  he 
couldn't.  He  pulled  this  way  and  that.  He  stretched, 
he  rolled  from  side  to  side  until  his  bones  ached,  but 
all  to  no  avail.  He  could  not  get  up  from  the 
stool. 

"Brother!"  he  cried  in  terror,  "help  me  off 
this  cursed  stool  and  I'll  give  you  seven  more  years — 
I  swear  I  will!  " 

At  that  promise  the  shoemaker  allowed  the  devil 
to  stand  up,  and  the  devil  scurried  off  as  fast  as  he 
could. 

He  was  true  to  his  word.  He  didn't  come  back 
for  seven  years.  When  he  did  come  he  was  too  clever 
to  risk  sitting  down  again  on  the  cobbler's  stool.  He 
didn't  even  venture  inside  the  cottage  door.  Instead, 
he  stood  at  the  window  and  called  out: 

"  Ho,  shoemaker,  here  I  am  again  I  Your  time  has 
come!  Are  you  ready?" 


276  THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON 

"  I'll  be  ready  in  a  moment,"  the  shoemaker  said, 
"  Just  let  me  put  a  last  stitch  in  these  shoes." 

When  the  shoemaker  had  finished  sewing  the  shoes, 
he  put  aside  his  work,  bade  his  wife  good-by,  and  said 
to  the  devil: 

"  Now  then,  I'm  ready.     Let  us  go." 

But  the  devil  when  he  tried  to  move  away  from  the 
window  found  that  he  was  held  fast.  It  was  as  if 
his  feet  had  been  soldered  to  the  earth.  In  great 
fright  he  cried  out: 

"  Oh,  my  dear  little  shoemaker,  help  me!  I  can't 
move! " 

"  What's  this  trick  you're  playing  on  me  ? "  the 
shoemaker  said.  "  Now  I'm  ready  to  go  and  you 
aren't!  What  do  you  mean  by  making  a  fool  of 
me  this  way?" 

"Just  help  me  to  get  free,"  the  devil  cried,  "and 
I'll  do  anything  in  the  world  for  you!  I'll  give  you 
seven  more  years !  I  swear  I  will ! " 

"Very  well,"  the  shoemaker  said,  "then  I'll  help 
you  this  time.  But  never  again!  Now  remember:  I 
won't  let  you  make  a  fool  of  me  a  third  time ! " 

So  the  shoemaker  freed  the  devil  from  the  window 
and  the  devil  without  another  word  scurried  off. 

At  the  end  of  another  seven  years  he  appeared  again. 


THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON  277 

But  this  time  he  was  too  clever  to  look  in  the  window. 
He  didn't  even  come  near  the  cottage.  Instead  he 
stood  off  in  the  garden  under  the  pear-tree  and  called 
out: 

"  Ho,  there,  shoemaker!  Your  time  has  come  and 
I  am  here  to  get  you!  Are  you  ready?" 

"  I'll  be  ready  in  a  moment,"  the  shoemaker  said. 
"  Just  wait  until  I  put  away  my  tools.  If  you  feel 
like  it,  shake  yourself  down  a  nice  ripe  pear." 

The  devil  shook  the  pear-tree  and  of  course  when 
he  tried  to  stop  he  couldn't.  He  shook  until  all  the 
pears  had  fallen.  He  kept  on  and  presently  he  had 
shaken  off  all  the  leaves. 

When  the  shoemaker  came  out  and  saw  the  tree 
stripped  and  bare  and  the  devil  still  shaking  it,  he 
pretended  to  fall  into  a  fearful  rage. 

"Hi,  there,  you!  What  do  you  mean  shaking 
down  all  my  pears!  Stop  it!  Do  you  hear  me? 
Stop  it!" 

"  But  I  can't  stop  it !  "  the  poor  devil  cried. 

"We'll  see  about  that!"  the  shoemaker  said. 

He  ran  back  into  the  cottage  and  got  a  long  leather 
strap.  Then  he  began  beating  the  devil  unmercifully 
over  his  head  and  shoulders. 

The  devil  made  such  an  outcry  that  all  the  village 


278  THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON 

heard  him  and  came  running  to  see  what  was  the 
matter. 

"Help!  Help!"  the  devil  cried.  "Make  the 
shoemaker  stop  beating  me !  " 

But  all  the  people  thought  the  shoemaker  was  doing 
just  right  to  punish  the  black  fellow  for  shaking 
down  all  his  pears  and  they  urged  the  shoemaker  to 
beat  him  harder. 

"My  poor  head!  My  poor  shoulders!"  the  devil 
moaned.  "  If  ever  I  get  loose  from  this  cursed 
pear-tree  I'll  never  come  back  here!  I  swear  I 
won't!" 

The  shoemaker,  when  he  heard  this,  laughed  in  his 
sleeve  and  let  the  devil  go. 

The  devil  was  true  to  his  word.  He  never  again 
returned.  So  the  shoemaker  lived,  untroubled,  to  a 
ripe  old  age. 

Just  before  he  died  he  asked  that  his  cobbler's  apron 
be  buried  with  him  and  his  sons  carried  out  his  wish. 

As  soon  as  he  died  the  little  shoemaker  trudged  up 
to  heaven  and  knocked  timidly  at  the  golden  gate.  St. 
Peter  opened  the  gate  a  little  crack  and  peeped  out. 
When  he  saw  the  shoemaker  he  shook  his  head  and 
said: 

"Little   shoemaker,   heaven   is   no   place   for   you. 


THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON  279 

While  you  were  alive  you  sold  your  soul  to  the  ruler  of 
the  other  place  and  now  you  must  go  there." 

With  that  St.  Peter  shut  the  golden  gate  and 
locked  it. 

The  little  shoemaker  sighed  and  said  to  himself: 

"  Well,  I  suppose  I  must  go  where  St.  Peter  says." 

So  he  put  on  a  bold  front  and  tramped  down  to 
hell.  When  the  devil  who  knew  him  saw  him  coming, 
he  shouted  out  to  his  fellow  devils: 

"  Brothers,  on  guard !  Here  comes  that  terrible 
little  shoemaker!  Lock  every  gate!  Don't  let  him  in 
or  he'll  drive  us  all  out  of  hell! " 

The  devils  in  great  fright  scurried  about  and  locked 
and  barred  all  the  gates,  and  the  little  shoemaker  when 
he  arrived  could  not  get  in. 

He  knocked  and  knocked  but  no  one  would  answer. 

"  They  don't  seem  to  want  me  here,"  he  said  to  him- 
self. "  I  suppose  I'll  have  to  try  heaven  again." 

So  he  trudged  back  to  St.  Peter  and  explained  to 
him  that  hell  was  locked  up  tight. 

"  No  matter,"  St.  Peter  said.  "  As  I  told  you  be- 
fore heaven  is  no  place  for  you." 

The  little  shoemaker,  tired  and  dejected,  went  back 
to  hell  but  again  the  devils,  when  they  saw  him  coming, 
locked  every  gate  and  kept  him  out. 


280  THE  SHOEMAKER'S  APRON 

In  desperation  the  little  shoemaker  returned  to 
heaven  and  pounded  loudly  on  the  golden  gate. 
Thinking  from  the  noise  that  some  very  important 
saint  had  arrived,  St.  Peter  flung  open  the  gate.  Quick 
as  a  flash  the  little  shoemaker  threw  his  leather  apron 
inside,  then  hopped  in  himself  under  St.  Peter's  elbow 
and  squatted  down  on  the  apron. 

In  great  excitement  St.  Peter  tried  to  turn  him  out 
of  heaven,  but  the  little  shoemaker  shouted: 

"You  can't  touch  me!  You  can't  touch  me!  I'm 
sitting  on  my  own  property!  Let  me  alone! " 

He  raised  such  a  hubbub  that  all  the  angels  and 
the  blessed  saints  came  running  to  see  what  was  hap- 
pening. Presently  Lord  Jesus  himself  came  and  the 
little  shoemaker  explained  to  him  how  he  just  had  to 
stay  in  heaven  as  the  devils  wouldn't  let  him  into 
hell. 

"  Now,  Master,"  St.  Peter  said,  "  what  am  I  to  do? 
You  know  yourself  we  can't  keep  this  fellow  in 
heaven." 

But  Lord  Jesus,  looking  with  pity  on  the  poor  little 
shoemaker,  said  to  St.  Peter: 

"  Just  let  him  stay  where  he  is.  He  won't  bother 
any  one  sitting  here  near  the  gate." 


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